Global News Podcast - Thailand dissolves main opposition party

Episode Date: August 7, 2024

A Thai court has ordered the dissolution of the country's biggest opposition party. Also: Russia’s President Putin has called a rare incursion of Ukrainian troops into Russian territory a “major provocation”.

Hello, this is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service, with reports and analysis from across the world. The latest news seven days a week. BBC World Service podcasts are supported by advertising. If you're hearing this, you're probably already listening to BBC's award-winning news podcasts. But did you know that you can listen to them without ads? Get current affairs podcasts like Thank you. Amazon Music with a Prime membership. Spend less time on ads and more time with BBC Podcasts. This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Rachel Wright and at 13 Hours GMT on Wednesday the 7th of August, these are our main stories. Thailand's biggest opposition party has been banned over its plans

to change the strict laws about criticising the monarchy. President Putin condemns the latest incursion into Russian territory by troops crossing from Ukraine. The North Korean leader orders 300,000 young people to help clear up after devastating floods. Also in this podcast... Are we having our minds taken off the stuff that should be capturing our attention? That's one theory. Another one is that he just loves goats. As two new Banksy's appear in London, we search for meaning in the murals.

And in Australia, Bluey the cartoon puppy and a large-scale theft of commemorative coins. We start in Thailand, where the Constitutional Court has ordered the dissolution of the biggest opposition party because of its campaign to amend a law that protects the monarchy from criticism. The court had ruled earlier this year that the campaign by Move Forward was unconstitutional and undermined Thailand's political system. These activists at the party headquarters reacted with anger and sadness. I did not expect that the result would be like this. I'm sad, but I don't regret anything. Ultimately, we as people will keep on fighting.

It's not OK. I cannot accept this. The party should not be dissolved. You, the court, should investigate and verify the evidence. How can you be sure that the evidence is real? Speaking at a news conference after the verdict, the leader of Move Forward, Pitta Limjarunrat, said a new party would be announced on Friday. We'll make sure that the political project continues in a new vehicle, which will be introduced on August 9th, which I will not be part of anymore. It's entirely up to my colleagues at the back to get together and decide on the party, the party name and the next leader. So I can't comment on that at the moment. I spoke to our Southeast Asia correspondent, Jonathan Head,

who said the dissolution of the party was expected. This is a court that has a very long track record of doing exactly this to other parties, although this is the first time they've used the issue of the monarchy, which is a very serious one, as a justification for it. And it really underlines the very stark difference in views between those who want change in Thailand, those who are younger, more open-minded, and those who are determined to defend the status quo. If you look at what the judges said about Move Forward,

it wasn't just that they proposed amending this law. They interpreted Move Forward's... I mean, these were very mild proposals. Move Forward wasn't proposing abolishing the law. It just said, as many others have said, the punishments are incredibly harsh, which they are. People go to jail for decades. But the court interpreted that essentially

as trying to bring down the entire monarchical system. It claimed that move forward actions had shown hostility against the monarchy. It had weakened it and was exploiting it to get votes and pitting the monarchy in a conflict against the people. And so it's regarded this as a very, very serious move and justifying this drastic measure. But, you know, people now in Thailand know that this is the role the constitutional court is expected to play. It is an ultra-conservative, unelected body backed by the military, by royalists, which will move against any political party within the democratic system that is perceived as somehow threatening the established order. And that's the message that comes out of today's verdict. What are these oppositions, some of whom are incredibly popular, obviously,

what are they going to do next? Well, the MPs, most of them, are not covered by the ban. Only the party's top leaders are banned from politics. So under Thailand's rather peculiar political system, you can simply slide into another party. And remember, Move Forward itself came out of a previous reformist party called Future Forward that was also dissolved on different grounds four years ago. And so the same thing will happen again. And I wonder whether those who've determined to crush it, and there are those on the Conservative side who'd like to,

have really thought this through, because the last time its predecessor was banned, move forward, the new party actually did much better in the next election. When we have another election in three years' time, it'll be very interesting to see what this new successor party will do. But there will be a constant battle now in Thailand between those saying we must have change, Thailand is ageing, its economy is slowing down, we must have a more flexible system,

one where we don't have this enormously powerful, unaccountable monarchy, and those who are saying you just can't touch it, it's sacred. For now, the Conservatives clearly have the upper hand. They have not just can't touch it, it's sacred. For now, the Conservatives clearly have the upper hand. They have not just the Constitutional Court, but they have a Senate, a new Senate that's just been chosen, which is ultra-royalist as well. So it's going to be a very tough battle for those who want to continue this reformist campaign. Jonathan Head in Bangkok. President Vladimir Putin has called an incursion of Ukrainian forces into Russian territory a major provocation. Speaking in a televised meeting with government officials, Mr Putin said Ukraine

had conducted indiscriminate shelling of civilians in the Kursk region, where the Russian army says it's been battling Ukrainian fighters for a second day. Earlier, the Russian health ministry said more than 20 people had been wounded. I asked Danny Eberhard, our Europe regional editor, to fill us in on the latest. This incursion started on Tuesday, Rachel, and initially the Russian ministry of defence seemed to suggest that these forces, whoever they are, had been repelled. But since then it's said that operations are ongoing and continued overnight to destroy what it called units of the Ukrainian armed forces.

It said it prevented them from advancing deep into Russian territory. Now, Russian military bloggers have suggested that some of these advances got as far as 15 kilometres inside Russia, which is quite a long way. And Russia's Ministry of Defense says it's inflicted large losses. The local governor, Alexei Smirnov, says the situation is under control, often a phrase used when things aren't under control. He's saying that evacuations have started of people in border areas.

He's also called for blood. And he said that teams, medical teams, have been arriving from elsewhere in Russia. So they're obviously there to deal with casualties. Who do we think these troops are? Because previous incursions have involved Russian armed groups who are anti-Putin. Well, it's not totally clear at this stage. As I say, Russia says it's Ukrainian armed troops. But last year, there were incursions across the Russian border by two different anti-Kremlin Russian groups. So one was called the Russian Volunteer Corps.

The other one was the Freedom of Russia Legion. They're based in Ukraine. And they went across the border in Bryansk, Belgrade and Kursk. Those were repelled. But we don't know at the moment who was doing this. Ukraine hasn't said anything officially. So we're waiting to see what obviously they often don't comment on their actual military actions. But have we any idea what the aims of the Ukrainian incursion might be?

Because this is unusual, isn't it? Yes, so we don't know. It may well be that they're trying to stop attacks from Russia across into Sumy. Now, Sumy, a Ukrainian region that borders Kursk, has been targeted relentlessly by Russian bombardments. And Sumy itself was invaded in the full scale invasion. Russian troops went into Sumy, occupied it and then later withdrew. It could also be a diversionary move to try to get Russian forces redeployed from elsewhere where Ukrainian forces

are under pressure. Our Europe regional editor Danny Aberhard. Now the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has ordered a 300,000 strong citizens army to deploy to areas devastated by floods. Weeks of torrential rain have triggered widespread flooding and landslides across vast swathes of the secretive communist state. I found out more from our Asia-Pacific editor, Celia Hatton. The North Korean leader appeared in the centre of Pyongyang and was basically surrounded by adoring crowds as he sent off these 300,000 loyal youth workers to go and restore part of the countryside, the country's north. He described it as being a gigantic revolutionary construction campaign and basically said this group that he described as a youth shock brigade was going to give a facelift to the region. Now,

essentially, they're going to go and rebuild homes. They're set to rebuild 4,400 homes. We know, according to official North Korean statistics, that more than 4,000 homes were destroyed by the flood. So he's sending out this very loyal group. I wouldn't necessarily say they're all volunteers because I don't think they have, under North Korea's authoritative government, they don't really have the under North Korea's authoritative government, they don't really have the ability to say no, but they're being sent to the north of the country to give it a facelift. And is this area of the country a rather politically shaky part? Absolutely. So this part of the country used to be quite open, frankly, because it's on China's

border. And so for decades, North Koreans used to be able to go across the border, this quite porous border, go illegally into China, maybe work, maybe spread some news about what was happening inside North Korea, take some news back in. And people crossed relatively often. After the pandemic and during the pandemic, Kim Jong-un took that opportunity to really seal up the border so people can't cross anymore. That means they're trapped when flooding is happening. They have no way to help themselves. And also that part of the country is really cut off from the rest of the world and the rest of North Korea.

And so if people there are very unhappy about the extent of the flooding, flooded farmland. They can't feed themselves. This is a way for Kim Jong-un to send politically loyal people to that part of the country and to make a big show about the fact that he's the one ordering the rebuilding. Celia Hatton. The Bangladeshi economist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Mohamed Younis has called for calm and new elections in the country after agreeing to lead an interim government. Mr Younis said trust in the government should be restored quickly and a plan for new elections drawn up. Our South Asia regional editor Ambarasa Netharajan has more details. The microcredit pioneer Mohamed Younis is currently in Paris and scheduled to arrive in

the Bangladeshi capital on Thursday. Ahead of his return, Mr Yunus issued a statement repeatedly urging people to refrain from all kinds of violence. He warned that if they took the path of violence, everything would be destroyed. There have been reports of looting and revenge attacks on police and supporters of the ousted Prime Minister Sheikha Sena. Bangladesh has been in turmoil since she resigned and fled to India on Monday following weeks of unrest. For now, student protesters have taken responsibility for directing traffic and maintaining calm. The police, who were responsible for the crackdown on anti-government protesters,

are on strike, fearing for their safety. Ambarasan Etharajan. As tensions continue to rise in the Middle East, people in Haifa in the north of Israel are bracing for a major attack. The port city lies just 20 miles from the border with Lebanon. Our correspondent Jenny Hill has been to Haifa to assess the mood and visit a purpose-built underground hospital which could shelter thousands of people. I am deep underground in the northern Israeli city of Haifa. This is normally a multi-storey car park, but there are no vehicles here. Instead, I'm looking at scores and scores of hospital beds.

If there's an attack on Haifa, this vast bunker will shelter the sick and take in the injured. When? When? When is it going to happen? Nobody knows. We talk about it a lot. Dr Avi Weissman is the director of the Rambam Medical Centre, which runs the facility. In general, people are optimistic. We hope it's going to be in short duration.

So people are a little bit anxious. There are operating theatres here, a maternity ward, even pictures of flowers on the concrete walls, and supplies to keep everyone going for three days. They tell us here they're fully prepared for an attack. Israel insists it's ready for any eventuality. And yet, you can sense the unease. You can feel the fear.

This port city is busy, vibrant, but people in Haifa tell us they do feel vulnerable. Lebanon and Hezbollah's rockets are close by. Look out over the shipping lanes here and you can see the border. It's a ticking time bomb. Any minute now it could be like an alarm. Will I die? Will I have time to go home to my family? Will there be traffic and trains? Will I be alone here? The authorities here seem very keen to say that Israel is completely prepared for any eventuality. That doesn't seem to reassure you.

I don't trust them at all. I think that you can never be fully prepared for a scenario like this. But as he delicately pours cappuccinos in his newly opened coffee shop, Loe tells us that the constant threat has dulled his fear. I'm afraid. People are afraid. Are you afraid? I'm not afraid. I'm not sleeping well at night. Yonah Yahav is the mayor of Haifa. The weight of responsibility hoods his eyes. He's in his 80s and ran this city when Israel was at war with Lebanon almost 20 years ago.

I'm very sad about it, that there is a folk in the Middle East with their leaders are only concerned about destruction, killing, fighting instead of building. So Haifa's doctors continue to prepare their fortress hospital. But international diplomacy is ongoing. Hope still they'll never have to use it. Jenny Hill. Still to come in this podcast. We're doing our absolute best to try to recover these coins and put them back into circulation.

Strikeforce Bandit, the police operation in Australia to track down thousands of stolen limited edition cartoon coins. If you're hearing this, you're probably already listening to BBC's award-winning news podcasts. But did you know that you can listen to them without ads? Get current affairs podcasts like Global News, AmeriCast and The Global Story, plus other great BBC podcasts from history to comedy to true crime, all ad-free. Simply subscribe to BBC Podcasts Premium on Apple Podcasts or listen to Amazon Music with a Prime membership. Spend less time on ads and more time with BBC Podcast Premium on Apple Podcasts or listen to Amazon Music with a Prime membership. Spend less time on ads and more time with BBC Podcasts.

Iman Halif is into the welterweight boxing final at the Olympics. The Algerian boxer came into the Games under a cloud of controversy after she was banned from participating at last year's World Boxing Championships. Back then, the governing body in charge, the IBA, said she'd failed gender eligibility tests. The International Olympic Committee, which severed ties with the IBA, cleared Halif and another athlete to compete. But the story has become even bigger after her opening round opponent Angela Carini quit, saying she had never been hit so hard

and that she had to protect her life. It sparked a polarised debate on social media and the IOC came out in support of Khalif, saying that she's a woman and questioning the legitimacy of the tests the IBA conducted. Her uncle, Rashid Jabur, spoke to BBC Arabic from the Algerian city of Tiaret. Her hobbies in childhood were soccer and cross-country running, and she always ranked first. She had an aptitude for all sports and her body is suited for various sports. She was also brave and didn't accept defeat. We used to buy her things for girls and she looked forward to buying these things. She was very feminine and we never doubted whether she was a boy or a girl. But from a young age, we discovered that she has courage and was braver than boys her age.

For example, when she fell, she wouldn't cry and she was faster than the boys. Iman's favourite hobby is horse riding and she loves sport. The most important thing for her is to practise sport. She doesn't need or want anything but to practise sport. Well, France has a large Algerian population. BBC sports reporter Isaac Fanning has been speaking to some of them in Paris. So I was told about barbers by an Algerian friend who told me that there's a big Algerian community

and I've just gotten off the train here, just walking down the street. I can see a few restaurants restaurants lots of people milling about in these streets outside the station you can see actually a few algerian flags and a few people wearing algerian jerseys let me head into this restaurant here and see if i can have a word with someone can i ask you some questions about Iman Khalif? Yes. Okay. My name is Mohamed. I'm from Algeria.

Have you been watching the Olympics? Yes, of course. Every night I watch the Olympic Games. I am proud of Iman Khalif. It's a very good woman. Every people talking about the situation of Iman Khalif, because all the world speaks about this situation. We have to stay with Iman Khalif to defend her. Congratulations. And she will win the gold. And one, two, three, Viva Algeria.

Mohamed made me an absolutely delightful Algerian sandwich and it's fuelled me to walk around Barbers, have a chat with a few people. Every time I speak to them in my broken French, I say, can you speak to me? And they say, I don't speak English. But when I say Iman Khalif's name, there is recognition. People know who she is, which is crazy given the fact that before the Olympics began, she probably had about 10,000 followers. Now she is on to 1.3 million followers and it's all because of everything she's been through and the fact that she is an Olympic medalist.

We hope she wins the final. You know the drama that comes in everything. She proved everything wrong. She is like our own hero, the final. You know, the drama that comes and everything. She proved everything wrong. She is, like, our own hero, you know. What do you make of everything that she's had to deal with this week? They insulted her. They, like, bullied her and everything. But she stays strong and, you know, she wins.

And, obviously, if she can win gold, how proud would you be of her? Very, very, very proud. Like, you know, that's like an honour for our country, an honour for us. Inshallah, she wins. Inshallah. I think she's a woman. She was born as a woman. I've seen a lot of pictures of her as a kid. And, yes, I think she doesn't deserve all of the hate. That report by Isaac Fanning, enjoying an Algerian sandwich in Paris. Deep in the Bolivian Amazon

rainforest lived the Choumani people, a nomad, semi-isolated native tribe in the north of the South American nation. Little was known about the Chimani tribe until researchers became interested in a particular fact. The older people from this community age more slowly compared with other populations. They also maintain their physical and mental health until very late in life. So what's their secret? BBC Mundo's Alejandro Millán and Jorge Perez Valery travel there to find out. The muddy, slow-moving waters of Manique River winds and zigzags through the Bolivian lowlands. Travelling in a narrow wooden canoe fitted with an outboard motor, we pass families of similar

craft, faring large stacks of bananas. It's in a string of communities on banks of the Manique that the Chimane people have thrived. We are dropped seven hours upriver, then begin walking down a dirt path through the jungle. It's not long before we meet Martina Cancinate, a Chimane grandmother. She's hard at work. Martina hacks down a banana tree with a machete, then carries the rack through the jungle as long as her back,

the straps supported by her head. We try to walk with her back to her village. We are soon breathless. Martina? And had to ask her to slow down for us. We then ask how old is she. She doesn't remember. Age seems irrelevant here.

But once at her home, after a drink of chicha, she looked for her ID to show us that she is officially 84 years old. In the town of Zamborja, the closest to the Chimane territory, American anthropologist Hiller Kaplan has been studying the health of this ethnic group for two decades. When they compared the data to other populations around the world, Kaplan and his colleagues found that 85% of these older people had zero risk of heart disease. One of the things we could say is a 75-year-old Chimane's arteries were more like a 50-year-old American's arteries.

We join one group of Chimane as they make a trip to the hospital in the city of Trinidad, about 150 miles away. They receive CT scans and a variety of other tests. But while their ancestral diet and daily routine form two pillars of their longevity, researchers now believe there is a more tragic foundation to their resilience. And you, how many children did you have? That's Dr. Daniel Rodriguez. He and the team are currently looking at the impact infections and bacteria

has had on the chimane's immune system and how it protects them from arterial diseases. One woman answers she had nine children and three more that passed away. High exposure to infection meant that the Chimane people had suffered from high rates of child and maternal mortality. Those that survived could have been left with greater resilience. Whether by painful losses or healthy living, the Chimane feel proud to know that their ancestral lifestyle is now a health reference beyond the jungle. Hilda is one of the most senior members of the community. This year my children killed a pig to celebrate that I'd turned around 100 years old. They told me it was my birthday and that's why they had a small party.

I'm not afraid of dying. They will bury me and I will stay there. That report from BBC Mundo. The UK's official coin maker, the Royal Mint, has begun processing electronic waste to extract gold. A large industrial plant has been built on its site in Wales to remove the precious metal from old circuit boards. The gold is initially being used to craft jewellery and later it will be made into commemorative coins. Our science editor Rebecca Morrell reports.

Electronic waste, everything from old phones to dead laptops and defunct TVs, is a problem that's been piling up. But for the Royal Mint, it's now a valuable resource. They're processing the circuit boards from this discarded tech in their new industrial plant. Each board contains tiny amounts of gold, and this is being extracted using chemical processes. They're hoping to take in about 4,000 tonnes of e-waste a year. This is expected to provide up to 450 kilograms of the precious metal.

Inga Doak is head of sustainability for the Royal Mint. What we're doing here is we're actually urban mining. So we're taking a waste product that's being produced by society and each one of us as individuals and we're mining the gold from that waste product and starting to see the value in that finite resource. It's a big change for the company who've been making coins for more than 1,000 years. But with cash use dwindling, the Royal Mint says this is a new change for the company, who've been making coins for more than 1,000 years. But with cash use dwindling, the Royal Mint says this is a new way for it to make money and to save jobs. Rebecca Murrell there on the factory turning something old into something new. Next, we head to Australia to hear about something borrowed and definitely blue. Bluey, the cartoon puppy, is the inexhaustible and hugely popular star of a children's TV show.

She's endlessly curious and particularly keen on role play, whether that's being a taxi driver, hotel manager or mermaid, but probably not a bank robber, at least not until today. That could all change now that the police have charged a man over the theft of nearly US$400,000 worth of limited edition Bluey coins, many of which remain missing, as Detective Superintendent Joseph Duehi explained at a hastily convened police news conference. We are certainly aware of how popular Bluey is and the fact that these coins, the theft of these coins have deprived a lot of young children and members of the community from having access to these coins. So we're doing our absolute best to try to recover these coins and put them back into circulation. I asked Katie Watson, our correspondent in Sydney, what it is that makes

Bluey so popular. I think it's a cartoon that both children and adults love. I think it talks to everybody, the fun that they have as a family. Certainly, I think a lot of parents, certainly here in Australia and elsewhere, feel that perhaps they feel slightly insecure, I think, with how great Bluey's parents are and how great parents, such great parents they are. Certainly, I think, you know, here, it's an absolute craze. And of course, across the world, Bluey has become hugely popular. And made into coins, which were commemorative and an exclusive. So they were stolen. How did this all come to light? Well, to set this into some kind of context, it was back in June. There was a collection of coins that went on sale here in Australia, such is the popularity that collectors and fans, they went crazy.

The Royal Mint diverted all its phone lines to the sales centre when they launched. It was known as Bluey Mania. Now, what we now know is that it was some coins that were set for a September release. They were reported stolen, 64,000 of them. And Stephen John Nielsen, he appeared in court earlier today, Wednesday, arrested after a raid, charged with three counts of breaking and entering. He's alleged to be an employee of a warehouse, of the warehouse where the coins were stored. And obviously there was a search warrant in Western Sydney.

They found 189 coins, but they're still looking for two men. It's still very much an ongoing investigation and also just to find the remainder of the coins that were stolen. And I'm told there's a family connection to the police operation. That's right. An investigation was launched after the reports of the theft of the coins and it was called Strike Force Bandit. That is the name of Bluey's father in the television programme. So there is a Bluey theme at the criminal level trying to find the whereabouts of these very sought-after coins.

Katie Watson in Sydney. The elusive British street artist Banksy is having a busy week. He's claimed responsibility for a second new artwork in London, two elephants facing each other as they poke their heads out of blocked out windows on the side of a house in London. This was the view of some who've seen it. I think it's charming. I think it's just so lovely to see two elephants having a lovely chat, looking happy. I'm a bit underwhelmed. But yeah, I don't know what it's really depicting.

But I think it's more that it's cool to have seen it. I just love elephants. So I think something like that really softens a street that's quite noisy and full of bricks and building at the moment. Yeah there's definitely a message there and given that I don't know what it is but I'm trying to figure it out and it's intriguing me. There's been speculation that the artist could be starting a wider campaign. On Monday his website revealed another artwork, a goat perched on a ledge, also in London. James Peake, presenter of the Banksy story for BBC Radio,

went along to see that one, and he has this assessment. With all Banksy's, there's many levels. It's a lovely piece of art. It's far more impressive in the flesh than, or in the paint, I should say, than on the photos. But it looks great. There's a CCTV camera pointing at it that is now angled away. Originally, the CCTV camera had been re-angled to look at the goat,

and with the goat being, of course, the greatest of all time. We're hearing a lot about that with the Olympics. So is this some sort of clever metaphor for bread and circuses? Are we having our minds taken off the stuff that should be capturing our attention? The plight of people in the Middle East, the goat being an emblem of Palestine and big world problems like that. That's one theory. Another one is that he just loves goats.

So what will it be today? As I said, I'm prepared to be wrong, but how exciting if there was an emerging campaign of pieces to be found around London over the next few days or weeks. He's got form for that. Are we looking at another one? James Peake. And that's all from us for now, but there will 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 Sydney Dundon. The producer was Ilabella Jewell. The editor is Karen Martin.

I'm Rachel Wright. Until next time, goodbye. If you're hearing this, you're probably already listening to BBC's award-winning news podcasts. But did you know that you can listen to them without ads get current affairs podcasts like global news americast and the global story plus other great bbc podcasts from history to comedy to true crime all ad free simply subscribe to bbc podcast premium on apple podcasts or listen to amazon

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