Global News Podcast - Syria's President Assad insists he will defeat rebels

Episode Date: December 1, 2024

Syria's President Assad has insisted he will defeat the rebels who have attacked Aleppo. Also: Georgia's president vows to remain in post after her term ends, and why killer whales are wearing dead salmon on their heads.

This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK. Hello, I'm Brian Cox. And I'm Robin Ince. He understands the nature of the universe. And so does Robin. Well, you know what? I do have my moments, especially after this new series, the Infinite Monkey Cage,

because we are joined by experts at Bletchley Park. We're talking about cyber warfare, an unexpected history of the body at the Royal Society. Plus, we'll be talking about de-extinction, elasticity and embryology. And there will be comedic interludes. And Pam Ayres on hedgehogs. I mean, she's not riding them. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

This podcast is brought to you by WISE, the app that helps you manage your money internationally. With WISE you have up to 40 currencies at your fingertips. You can receive money, pay bills money internationally. With WISE you have up to 40 currencies at your fingertips. You can receive money, pay bills and send money across borders without hidden fees. You always get the real-time mid-market exchange rates. See exactly what you pay every time. Join millions of WISE customers worldwide. Download the WISE app today or visit wise.com. T's and T's apply. today or visit wise.com. Tcc Supply.

This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Paul Moss and in the early hours of Sunday, the 1st of December, these are our main stories. Syria's President Assad insists he will defeat rebel forces, his first comment since they captured the city of Aleppo. The aid group World Central Kitchen says it's suspending operations in Gaza after three employees were killed in an Israeli strike. And Georgia's pro-Western president vows to stay in power past the end of her mandate, describing the parliament electing a new one as illegitimate. Also in this podcast...

Why have killer whales apparently revived a marine fashion trend wearing dead salmon on their heads? In a world of so many conflicts, it can be hard to keep up with every war, every battle, every skirmish. And that, perhaps, is sometimes true of the countries involved in fighting. Russia, for example, has been focused on its invasion of Ukraine. Hezbollah, meanwhile, has been hit hard in its conflict with Israel. And it does look like both of them failed to notice what was going on in the meantime

with the conflict in Syria. Russia and Hezbollah had been major supporters of the Assad regime. Their relative absence from the scene would perhaps partly explain how, apparently out of the blue, rebels based in Idlib managed to break out of their stronghold and almost so instantly overwhelmed the city of Aleppo. The attack certainly came as a shock to this resident. We had no idea what was going on. The rebellious troops, they were actually moving closer to us in the middle of Aleppo and they managed to enter the city of Aleppo and they were

all technically over half of Aleppo. I don't know whether I'm safer. We don't know if we should stay in Aleppo. We're disturbed. We have no idea what's gonna happen. The Syrian army is acknowledging the scale of the assault, saying that dozens of its soldiers have been killed and that it had been forced to redeploy, a euphemism perhaps for full-scale retreat. In his first statement, President Assad has said he will defeat rebel forces, but it's perhaps a mark of how serious the situation is that Russia's foreign minister had a conversation about it with his Turkish opposite number. Meanwhile, Iran's foreign minister has apparently warned Russia

the attack was part of a US-Israeli plan to extend its influence. But of course while the geopolitics is played out, it's civilians on the ground who are bearing the brunt of the fighting. Our correspondent Lina Sinjab is in neighbouring Lebanon and has managed to speak to some of them. Lots of people are so much worried about the situation, whether to hold on in Aleppo or move. We've seen waves of people leaving Aleppo while others still staying put,

watching and speculating what's going to happen. Apparently, the opposition this time are coming with a very well-organized operation, guaranteeing safety for people, asking people for calm and not to move and that they won't affect any harm on anyone, especially that the rebels who are conducting this operation are of Islamist background. So residents of Aleppo, especially of, you know, different sects and minorities are worried about their safeties, but they've been given assurances there hasn't been any incident reported of any violations or any attacks against anyone. But this is a really quick and surprise operation that the rebels today are almost taking all over Aleppo and there are reports that the battle is moving south towards Hama.

I said that Russia seems to have been caught unawares by this. At the same time they've clearly reacted fast because they've been bombing Aleppo. I mean, last time that happened it's been estimated they left thousands dead. How bad is the bombing this time? Well there hasn't been any real figures about number of people killed. The human rights organisations are saying that there are dozens of people killed probably because of Russian airstrikes but these were very limited airstrikes that happened overnight and through the day to day, but they don't seem to have stopped the rebels from advancing further. Of course, this operation comes

at a time where, as you mentioned, both allies of the Syrian regime, whether Iran, Russia or even Hezbollah, you know, especially Iran and Hezbollah, especially Iran and Hezbollah have been weakened by Israeli attacks in the region. So the rebels took advantage of this time and advanced further. But also there are some people who are pointing the fingers to Turkey, who supports this rebel's group and probably indicate that they have given a green light for this operation so that to force Assad to sit down on a negotiation table an invitation that Turkey has been sending for long and Assad is not responding to. Hindsight is easy but given we now have hindsight did this attack really come out of the blue or

or should we have seen something coming? We have to wait and watch how things are going to develop. The government forces have withdrawn. I have spoken to some people in Aleppo who are loyal to the regime and they describe this as a defeat and betrayal by the government. And they feel that there is something going on that will not hold for long. But it's really early hours to decide what's going to happen in the next days or weeks. Lina Sinjab.

With one Middle East conflict reigniting, others continue. And there's been more tragedy in Gaza, with three aid workers killed while trying to provide food to the Palestinians trapped there. The charity World Central Kitchen had already seen seven of its staff die in an Israeli airstrike last April. The three killed on Saturday were travelling by car. Israel claims one of their number had been involved in the Hamas attacks of October 7th last year.

Our correspondent Nick Beeke is in Jerusalem and sent this report. Some relatives fell to their knees when they arrived and saw the white body bags. One was draped with a T-shirt bearing the name of World Central Kitchen, for whom they worked. The charity has not confirmed how many of its staff died, but said it was heartbroken. Everyone is a target without any warning, said Nazmi Ahmed, an uncle of one of the men killed. "'My Muhammad was helping the people during this war. Everyone knew him,' he said."

The Israel Defense Forces announced it had targeted the car because another man inside, Hazmi Khadi, had taken part in the Hamas attacks last year in Kibbutz near Oz. The IDF did not provide any evidence for the claim. In April, seven other employees of World Central Kitchen, including three British security advisors, were killed in an Israeli drone attack. The IDF later admitted to grave mistakes and sacked two officers. This evening, Hamas representatives have been meeting Egyptian officials in Cairo in an effort to restart ceasefire talks.

Hamas has also released a video showing 20-year-old Edan Alexander, an American-Israeli hostage. Highly distressed and reading from a script, he says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has neglected the hostages and calls on US President-elect Trump to pressure the Israeli government to secure a deal for their release. Responding to the video, a group representing many of the hostage families said their loved ones' lives were hanging by a thread. Nick Beek, amidst all this fighting there is supposed to be peace for now in Lebanon. But Israel says its warplanes have struck what it calls military infrastructure

sites at the Syria-Lebanon border. They said they would be used by Hezbollah for weapon smuggling and that this was in violation of the ceasefire agreement. But despite this rupture, Lebanese people are continuing to stream back to their homes after weeks of airstrikes on Hezbollah positions. Our correspondent, Barbara Pletasha, has been speaking to some of those in the capital Beirut, taking stock of loss and clinging to hope. We are in a restaurant, a sandwich shop really, that was destroyed in the bombing. The ceilings are sagging in, there's a heap of rubble outside the open front door. Still food in the pots here, lentils and pickles, and workers are dismantling the food counter, clearing away the glass.

We got hit pretty bad. This used to be like a 12-storey building, and now it's all reduced to rubble. There's literally nothing left. Ali Harous managed the business with his father. It's in the southern suburbs, the Hezbollah stronghold and the main target of the Israeli bombings here in Beirut. Once we went back and saw whatever happened here, it was clear that it was going to take a long time to go back to anything normal. I feel there's a lot of grief. People are happy that there's a ceasefire.

They can go back to see whatever is left of their houses and pick up whatever memory they have from their houses. For me, I'm right here. I'm picking up whatever I can find that will remind me of my store. But sadly there's nothing except like rubble and broken glass. Around the corner Tahir Shahroor is standing in a landscape of debris. His flat was damaged but not destroyed when the missile struck behind and in front of his building. What will happen here do you think? Do you think the

government will help you rebuild your house? Nobody, no, the government will not help. Only Hezbollah, the one who will help us here. Nobody will help us in this area. Nobody, nobody, nobody. It's the time for Friday prayers and I'm hearing the sound of them from a mosque next to the sea on the corniche or promenade. During the war this was the safe space for people of Beirut, people whose homes were destroyed took refuge here and people who were afraid that they would get hit by the bombing.

Now it's much more relaxed, peaceful. What is your name? Mahmoud Sabra. I see you're running after your little girl here. Yes. Carrying a balloon. After this war, I start to feel like a freedom right now. Especially for the children.

In the war, they were like in one place they cannot in their age like run. So now she's enjoying it I think you're enjoying it too. You have a big smile on your face, of course Barbara pled usher reporting there Despite their fearsome name. It seems there's nothing that killer whales like more to do than have a chat across the ocean across the ocean. We don't know exactly what they're saying of course but there is another mystery about killer whales which has in some ways been even more of a puzzle among scientists and rather improbably it's all about headwear and the question has re-emerged thanks to a group in the Pacific Northwest just off

Seattle. In 1987 killer whales there, or orcas as they're also known, began wearing dead salmon on their heads. And just as human fashions often come round again it seems that 37 years later salmon hats are once again the in thing among orcas. So why? Lucy Baby from the Marine Conservation Group Orca told to Caroline Wyatt and told her first how it all began. A female killer whale was spotted wearing a dead salmon as a hat. But within weeks, this behaviour had spread beyond her own pod to two other pods. And that's what makes it so interesting.

We know that killer whales are highly intelligent. They teach other members of their group and other members of other groups certain behaviours. Usually, these behaviours are for survival purposes but this wearing of salmon hats, as it's been termed, seems to serve no survival purpose. It was thought to be a one-off trend, it lasted one year, but 40 years later we're seeing it again now and it's re-emerged lots of questions. Are these the same orcas? Are they younger orcas? How on earth has it been passed on? Orcas live in complex family groups. It's led by a female with all of her offspring

in that group. This highly social, highly intelligent, strong social bonds that are seen within these animals may explain this behaviour. They pass on behaviours. They pass on hunting techniques. They pass on everything they learn to their young. What's interesting is, it's possible that the orcas, the killer whales who experienced this behaviour back in the 80s have started it again. Could they be reliving the past? It's like us looking back through photo albums, reliving our youth. Could it be a cultural tradition? That just opens up a whole new host of questions in the scientific community, which is really interesting. I suppose they won't be wearing big shoulder pads, but why do you think they're doing it?

It's a very good question. It could be that it feels good. There could be another purpose that we just haven't found out yet, and that's what makes the marine environment so interesting. There's lots and lots of questions still unanswered. But these fad behaviours or trends, which are often short-lived, they tend to serve no obvious purpose. It might bring us to the fact that as they're so intelligent, this could just be a cultural fad that they're susceptible to just like us humans are. They're inquisitive and they're just having a bit of fun and playing with excess salmon, which is in the area at the moment. And so they carry them around on their heads.

You don't think they're carrying snacks with them? It has been hypothesized that they might be carrying extra food. So where there is so much food, so much salmon at the moment, they are just saving some, carrying it around for later. But we have seen with Orcas and Killer Whales around the world other short-lived trends and behaviours where it seems to serve the purpose of just fun, of playing, and that might be the reason in this case. Or we could see it re-emerge again in another 40 years. Lucy Baby.

Still to come. The voice will happen first and the image comes second. You can totally replace any Lucy Baby. Still to come. The voice will happen first and the image comes second. You can totally replace any person. The actress, Kate Blanchett, asks what future for performers in a world of artificial intelligence. Hello, I'm Brian Cox. And I'm Robin Ince. He understands the nature of the universe. And so does Robin.

Well, do you know what? I do have my moments, especially after this new series, The Infinite Monkey Cage, because we are joined by experts at Bletchley Park who are talking about cyber warfare, an unexpected history of the body at the Royal Society, plus we'll be talking about de-extinction, elasticity and embryology. And there will be comedic interludes and Pam Ayres on hedgehogs. I mean she's not riding them. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. This podcast is brought to you by WISE, the app that helps you manage your money

internationally. With WISE you have up to 40 currencies at your fingertips. You can receive money, pay bills and send money across borders without hidden fees. There's not much history of football being played in Saudi Arabia. Perhaps it's the desert heat which meant it never really caught on. But the oil-rich kingdom is apparently on a mission to become a go-to location for various international sports. And it looks almost certain to host the 2034 Men's Football World Cup. Campaign groups had consistently warned about human rights abuses there, but football's governing body, FIFA, does not see a problem.

And Saudi Arabia was the sole bidder after Australia withdrew last year. Tariq Panja is the New York Times global sports correspondent and told James Kumarasami the hosts are now boasting about the FIFA thumbs up. According to the Saudis, it's the highest ever bid evaluation. So what did this group do? FIFA's in-house evaluators, they looked at a number of things, including human rights, infrastructure, the finances that are associated with this enormous project, and somehow have come to decide that Saudi Arabia is not only a credible bid but a good bid to stage the world's most popular sporting event.

I note a hint, perhaps more than the hint of skepticism in your voice. You don't need me to say this, the Saudis have a number of issues related to human rights. You look at recent UN reports, you look at what rights groups say, a project like this will involve hundreds of thousands of migrant workers. We saw human rights. You look at recent UN reports, you look at what rights groups say. A project like this will involve hundreds of thousands of migrant workers. We saw what happened to them in Qatar, for instance. We're talking about deaths, injuries, wage theft, the Khafala system. All of that is likely to be an issue in Saudi Arabia too. Now FIFA said that it's human rights evaluations based on evidence of how effectively bidders intend

to address human rights risks connected with a tournament and they suggest that that could have improved by 2034 in Saudi Arabia. Well that's a very speculative forward looking thing. Amnesty International didn't waste any time talking about FIFA essentially whitewashing and their words Saudi Arabia's appalling human rights records. These stadiums, including one that the Saudis are building apparently in the sky, a thousand meters above ground in a city that has not been built yet. This is kind of like an architect sketch of an entire new country that FIFA seems to be banking on.

So an architect sketch of what the country will physically look like but also what the culture will look like from a human rights standpoint as well. In 10 years they say it will be different. Is there any chance then after this evaluation report that the 2034 World Cup won't go to Saudi Arabia or is it now nailed on? I think it was nailed on from the day Saudi Arabia was announced as the only bidder for the 2034 World Cup by FIFA. If you look at the optics of this, this bid evaluation report came out at midnight on

a Friday night in Europe. Now those of us who work in the news would describe that as a Friday night news dump when you want things that you don't really want much airtime given to. The same time, a report on Qatar and FIFA's responsibilities to migrant workers also was published by FIFA. And that report also said FIFA bears some responsibilities to workers who were injured and families of those who were killed and those who are still waiting for wages. And FIFA should compensate them. FIFA has decided that it's actually not

going to do this. These problems, if you speak to experts, will be there on steroids when it comes to Saudi Arabia, given the scale of construction that is required there and the same issues when it comes to migrant labour. Tarek Panja. Two Georgia now and protesters have been out in Tbilisi with a movement also spreading to other cities outside the capital. Large crowds gathered outside parliament waving flags and blowing whistles. What sparked this latest round of demonstrations is a decision by the newly elected government to suspend negotiations to join the European Union. For these people out on the streets it represents nothing less than a turning away from Western Europe and towards Moscow. I'm protesting Russia first of all. They're trying to occupy us by getting the government they want in Georgia and taking

us in without any power. They want to slave us. We are supporting our European way, freedom of speech, freedom of human rights. The country's Prime Minister, Iraqi Kobahidze, shows no sign of backing down. Indeed, he thanked police who had dispersed crowds with tear gas, water cannons and rubber bullets, leaving dozens needing medical treatment. And Mr Kobahidze dismissed those massed against him as tools of external forces. The radicals and their foreign patrons continuously attempt to fabricate excuses to destabilise

the country and push for the Ukranisation of Georgia. What they have yet to understand is that unlike Ukraine in 2013, Georgia is an independent state with strong institutions and most importantly an experienced and wise population whose resilience cannot be shaken. Georgia's parliament is set to choose a new president this month with some input from local government and the winner will almost certainly be an ally of the ruling Georgian Dream Party. But the current president is refusing to accept the parliament's legitimacy and refusing to step down from her position as she explained to the BBC's Russia editor Steve Rosenberg. The situation is the following. The elections were rigged, were not free and fair. In other words, did not happen. The parliament that was the result of these elections is not legitimate. The opposition parties have not entered the parliament.

And whatever the parliament does, that is elect a government or elect a president, is not legitimate. So I am president because I've been elected by the people until the time when is inaugurated a president that is legitimately elected by a legitimately elected parliament. So you're staying on as president? I'm staying on as president. As far as you're concerned? Yes. Okay so what if Georgian Dream? Because this country needs stability, everything is falling

apart. This state under the ruling of Georgian Dream has lost all its institutions, there is not a single independent institution left in the country except for the presidency. All the other institutions are completely dominated by one party rule and by, in the party, one man rule. So that's not a state. And what we're seeing today is really the civil society taking over because the state is falling apart, but the civil society is very vibrant not only on the streets with the protests that are ongoing and that are

developing since the non-legitimate Prime Minister has decided to call an end or suspension but we all know what it means of the European past so the people are out on the streets and will be out on the streets. There are more and more every day that come out, but more important and much more unusual, we're seeing now people resigning from the civil service in the different ministries, in the different institutions, the central bank for instance, where 170 people have left the central bank, for instance, where 170 people have left, protesting, ministries, the port of Poti. All the cities have spontaneous demonstrations, which also is very new in Georgia. It was usually always Tbilisi that was the centre of any form of protest.

So what if George and Dream ignores this, ignores you as president? And what if we ignore them? Can you ignore them? Sure. So will you be staying in the presidential palace? Will you be barricading yourself into the palace? What is important, and that's what I've announced today to the people, that I will be staying with around me a national form of council

that will help me to have this political part of the protest because I'm not leading the protests on the street, which is very spontaneous. We need stability and we need to prepare elections. And very important in that regard will be the decision of the next European Council in mid-December. And the mission, the technical mission that they are sending to Georgia,

that will be the one to help us review the conditions of the next election, so that we have free and fair elections finally. Do you fear for your safety? I mean, do you think you could be arrested? I think that I'm defended by the people that are there on the streets, so I don't think so. Today the ruling party is very isolated, streets, so I don't think so. Today the ruling party is very isolated and it will be more and more so. Salome Zurabishvili. The actress Cate Blanchett has won a fair few awards in her time, two Oscars, four BAFTAs, two Emmys and a Tony among others. But somehow she's also found

time to campaign on the environment and the plight of refugees in particular. And now the Australian star has turned her attention to artificial intelligence. She told the BBC's Laura Koonsberg that people had been ignoring the risks until Hollywood screenwriters downed tools, demanding assurances their work would not end up outsourced to a machine. I think the discussions around AI were not mainstreamed until the writer strike really brought it into public discourse. So I think it's very real. I mean, you can now completely – the voice will happen first and the image comes second. You can totally replace – if anyone, any person, forget whether they're an actor or not,

if you've recorded yourself for, I think it used to be 30 seconds, but now I think it's three or four, you can be, your voice can be replicated. And you're concerned about that? Deeply concerned, deeply concerned. There are some things where you think, well that will benefit humanity.

And I'm looking at those robots going, and driverless cars, and there's just certain things I think, and I'm not at those robots going, and driverless cars, and there's just certain things I think, and I'm not a curmudgeon, I'm a very curious human being. And I just look at these things and think, I don't really know what that's bringing anybody. Sometimes there's this experimentation for its own sake, which is creativity to one, when you look at it in one way, but then it's's also incredibly destructive which of course is the other side of creativity. And do you think that there is can you you know can you see a day where actors actually could be replaced

by AI creations is that something that worries you? I'm less concerned with my job prospects and then I am concerned about the impact it's going to have on the average person on old old age pensioners, on people who are already working three jobs to try and be below the poverty line. That's my concern. I'm worried about us as a species. Kate Blanchett. It may perhaps have escaped your attention, but September is the month when beekeepers from around the world gather for the bi-annual International Honey Awards. The 2025 event is due to be held in Copenhagen, and the meeting itself will go ahead.

But they will not be handing out a prize, and the reason should concern anyone who likes putting a bit of honey on their toast, or perhaps uses it to sweeten their drink. Our reporter, Rachel Rachel Wright can explain. Bees hard at work inside a hive making honey. Bees are not just relaxing to listen to but the honey they produce has many potential health benefits from reducing cholesterol levels and the risk of heart disease to healing wounds and it's been around for a very long time. According to the Honey Association, cave paintings in Spain from 7,000 BC show the earliest records of beekeeping. And it tastes delicious.

But increasingly beekeepers are saying that honey is being adulterated by cheap sugar syrup. And there isn't a way to judge what is pure honey and what is not. The European Beekeepers Association recently posted this video of desperate beekeepers. I'm Tavi. I'm a beekeeper. Today's kids are growing up by eating sugar syrups labelled as honey. They even don't know know what the taste of the real honey is. Today's most widely used honey authenticity tests are a tool for honey laundering. Today, the beekeepers' only hope is new test methods based on DNA. Honey laundering, as one of those beekeepers puts it, is the reason why for the first time

the International Beekeeping Awards will not give a prize for honey because there's no way of telling whether it's real or not. The awards are typically held every two years at the Congress, attended by thousands of beekeepers, scientists and industry representatives. Dozens of entries in recent honey competitions have been rejected because adulteration was suspected. Instead, next year's Copenhagen summit will highlight the damage being done to beekeepers around the world by fraud. An EU investigation published last year found 46% of imported sampled products were suspected to be fraudulent, including all 10 from the UK.

And beekeepers say that unless there's a quick test soon, it might be too late. I, as a beekeeper, am running out of money and time because of the fake honey on the market. I cannot compete with it as a real producer. And soon, maybe I'm not here anymore as a beekeeper. So the next time you buy a jar of the golden nectar, remember, is it honey or is it sugar? Rachel Wright. 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 Philip Bull. The producer was Alison Davies. The editor is Karen Martin and I am Paul Moss. Until next time, goodbye. Hello I'm Brian Cox.

And I'm Robin Ince. He understands the nature of the universe. And so does Robin. Well, you know what? I do have my moments, especially after this new series, The Infinite Monkey Cage, because we are joined by experts at Bletchley Park who will be talking about cyber warfare, an unexpected history of the body at the Royal Society, plus we'll be talking about de-extinction, elasticity and embryology.

And there will be comedic interludes and Pam Ayres on hedgehogs. I mean she's not riding the... Listen wherever you get your podcasts. This podcast is brought to you by WISE, the app that helps you manage your money internationally. With WISE you have up to 40 currencies at your fingertips. You can receive money, pay bills and send money across borders without hidden fees. You always get the real-time mid-market exchange rates. See exactly what you pay, every time. Join millions of Wyse customers worldwide. Download the Wyse app today or visit Wyse.com.

T's and T's apply.