Global News Podcast - UN says 'children reduced to skin and bones' and El Fasher facing starvation

Episode Date: August 5, 2025

The UN's food agency says people trapped in the Sudanese city of El Fasher for more than a year are facing starvation and that malnutrition is rife across the country, with many children "reduced to skin and bones". The interim leader of Bangladesh has been setting out plans for democratic reforms, a year after a student-led revolt toppled the authoritarian prime minister Sheikh Hasina. How one secret centre in Ukraine is trying to help traumatised children whose parents have been lost in the war with Russia. The latest on the migrant swap deal between France and the UK and Dolly Parton adds a 'Guinness World Record Icon’ award to her trophy cabinet.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]

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This is the Global News podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Valerie Sanderson, and at 1,300 hours GMT on Tuesday the 5th of August, these are our main stories. The UN says people in Sudan are facing starvation in the besieged city of El Fasher, where hundreds of thousands have been cut off for months. In Bangladesh, thousands gather in Dhaka to mark a year since the former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted. A U.S. news journalist causes controversy after interviewing the AI avatar of a student who died several years ago. Also in this podcast. The last time he wrote to me was a message on WhatsApp.

He sent me a video of them all drinking tea in the forest and he said, We're having a tea break. Everything's fine. I'll call you tomorrow. We visit a summer camp in Ukraine for children and teenagers. whose parents are missing. We begin with a conflict often called forgotten and the world's worst humanitarian crisis. The United Nations says there is a looming catastrophe

facing the children of Sudan because of a global failure to act in the war-ravaged country. Sheldoniet is the Sudan representative for the UN Children's Agency, UNICEF. With the situation deteriorating rapidly, children are dying from hunger, they're dying from disease and they're dying from direct violence. They're being

cut off from the very services that could save lives. Our Africa correspondent Barbara Platasher told us more. So Sheldiniet had recently been to Sudan and he visited areas that had become accessible to aid workers in the central part of the country, so in Al Jazeera

and Khartoum states. After the army drove out RSF fighters there, those are the paramilitary fighters that the army is against in the civil war. So Mr. Yette said that services were coming on board very slowly, such as clean water and food, but what he mostly described was the scale of the need that he was seeing, which he said was staggering, that many children had been reduced to skin and bones, that malnutrition was rife, that

there was an entire generation of children on the verge of irreversible damage, urging further access and also more resources, because he said the cutoff in aid funding, presumably he met by the United States earlier this year, was having a dire impact. He specifically also urged that there should be access to the front line, cities on the front line, which are still cut off to aid workers. And there the World Food Program has also chimed in. It issued a statement just a little while ago saying that one of those cities, El Fasher, which is in the western part of the country, in North Darfur State, that people there are facing starvation. That city has been under siege for more than a year by the RSF and aid trucks have simply not been able to get through.

the roads are blocked. And so they're saying that there's just very much urgency for the aid trucks to get in. They tried to send a convoy in early June that was attacked. Now they're going to try and send another one. They said that the Sudanese government, the military-backed government, had given permission, but they still were waiting to hear from the RSF whether the group would let there be a humanitarian pause for the delivery of this aid. Is any aid getting in? into alfasher it sounds like it's not and again this is there are a couple of places in the in the war which are completely cut off alfasher is one of them so the wFP said for example the markets were pretty much empty from what they were hearing community kitchens which had been serving food were basically out of stock any food in the market was extremely expensive and according to one report a bag of grain went for nearly two thousand dollars and there are a wide

widespread reports that people have been reduced to eating animal feed. This is the residue from peanuts and sesame seeds. Once the oil has been extracted, usually fed to animals. People have been eating that to try to get some sustenance. But generally they're saying there's really no food going in and getting just basic supplies in is very urgent. Do you think their view is the world has lost interest in Sudan, partly because of the other conflicts going on. I'm thinking of Gaza and Ukraine. Well, I think that's been a good. an ongoing criticism that Sudan is the forgotten

war. But there are two things here. One is resources and both the UNICEF and WFP said that they needed more resources that they were having to cut off some of the aid that they had already been giving because of the cut in funding. But the other thing is access.

So if you can't, if the city's under siege, if the RSF isn't letting you in, if the army's not letting you in, if the army is slowing down food, crossing enemy lines, this is something that the aid groups have struggled with throughout the war, and it's just become very, very stark in a city like Alfasher, which, as I said, is besieged.

There's another city in the southern part of the country called Cadugli in South Cordofan, which is also under siege by the RSF and its allies, and aid workers have said the situation is almost as bad there as it is in Elfasher. So I think in these particular areas, the access has to do with the fighting and whether or not they're allowed in by other party.

Barbara Pletosher, and now to Bangladesh. where thousands of people have been rallying in the capital Daka to mark a year since the former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted by a student-led uprising. Many have been carrying the country's flag or dressed in the national colours, green and red. Politician Yessa Arafat from Bangladesh's National Citizen Party explained why he was there. I know that one of course of each one day. the fifth reminds us that people united and rose against tyranny. People want to ensure that such authoritarian attitudes and tendencies are never seen again,

not in those currently in power, nor those that may come to power in the future. The country's interim leader, Mohamed Yunus, is putting forward what he's called the July Declaration as a way ahead. A South Asia regional editor and Barrasin Etherajan is following events. Various programs are being held in the capital, Dhaka, to marking this first anniversary of the auster of the former Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, and thousands of people have been coming from different parts of the country. People are waving that green and red flag of Bangladesh, the national flag, and there is an event being held in the capital, which is being attended by many of the political leaders. And from where the interim leader, Mohamed Yunoz,

is likely to address later this evening, where he will declare what they call as a July charter, basically legalizing this uprising against Ms. Asina last year and what are their projected aims for, you know, transition towards this political, new political roadmap and a political journey. And people from, especially students, are gathering there in hundreds and numbers and where they are raising slogans and people are singing songs. There's a cultural program where singing songs about Bangladesh and about what they call as a revolution towards a new Bangladesh. And what is Mohamed Yunus saying about the way ahead? So what he was saying is about, you know, this is the end of what he called tyranny and

repression and that should not be allowed to come back. So what they are expecting is to have a new political system that will have accountability, you know, justice, where there are checks and balances to the system where the government or any one person will not have all the powers concentrated towards one structure. That was one of the reasons why these people are pointing out that gave enormous powers to their prime minister. And many of the constitutional institutions were not doing their duty. They became voices of the government.

So what Mr. Eunice and others are trying to do is to empower these institutions like the Supreme Court, the judiciary system and the election commission so that there are checks and balances in a democracy, which are very, very key if you want to have a free and fair elections. And now they are moving towards the election. And there is also likely to announce a date for the next election sometime in February, mid-February. And the big challenge for the government is to hold a free and fair election so that all the political parties can take part and there are no complaints that the elections were rigged or were held in favour of one particular group or a party.

And Barisan Etherajan. At least a dozen civilians have died in overnight air and artillery attacks across Ukraine. President Zelensky said the Russian army was once again hunting people. Ukraine now lists more than 70,000 people as officially missing in the war, leaving thousands of children waiting for news of their parents. Psychologists say these children are some of the most traumatized they've ever worked with. The BBC's Wil Vernon has been to visit a summer camp that's used to give some of these children therapy and respite from the stress of aerial bombardments.

It's just after 8 in the morning and the kids at the camp are being woken up by Ukrainian pop songs. This is the camp for the children of Ukraine's missing. 50 of them, aged between 7 and 17, with one thing in common. They all have a parent missing in the war. They are living like in frozen state because they do not have this point of starting grieving. Van Wei Matirassian is the chief psychologist of Jen Ukrainian, the charity running this two-week camp.

They do not know how to move on. And that makes this type of trauma maybe the most difficult to work with. Our mission is to make small steps in order for these children have some chance. even in wartime. Dad was always very good to us. He had a sweet tooth like me and bought me sweets a lot. Nastya's dad disappeared around a year ago. He was serving in the Ukrainian army on the front line. As with all the children at the camp,

we spoke to her with a psychologist present. Can you tell me when you last saw your dad? It was in Boltawe. In the city of Poltava, we went there for two days because dad was training there. That was the last time I saw him. It was two weeks before he disappeared. I love him very much, and I know he loves me too, and he would do anything to make me happy. So I'm thankful for the good times that we experience together.

I'm glad of that more than I'm sad, because I hope we can make new memories with him again. Has the camp made you feel better? Yes, I think I've started feeling better. I've been having fun with friends and I've been really enjoying it. This is the first camp specifically for those who don't know what's happened to their missing parent. One group therapy session is held with the children sitting around a bonfire. They each light a candle to represent their missing loved ones. In the background, the children.

gentle slopes of Ukraine's Carpathian mountains, smothered in brilliant green forests of spruce and fir. The children are now sharing their memories of when the war started. Kids talking about the first times, they heard explosions, and how their parents were panicking, them having to pack up their things and leave. It really is. A very powerful decimally from these children. The last time he wrote to me was a message on WhatsApp. He sent me a video of them all drinking tea in the forest

and he said, we're having a tea break, everything's fine. I'll call you tomorrow. Dima is 15 and comes from the Kharkiv region. When Russia launched its full-scale invasion, his dad signed up to fight. Dima last spoke to him in November 23, the day before he disappeared. Mum was called by the military and was given the first piece of information, that Dad had been blown up in an airstrike.

Then someone else called Mum and said the Russians had reached their position and shot everyone. Mum was called over and over, and each time got different information. Mum cried a lot because of that. realized I was the only one who could support her. When Dad left, he said, Dima, no matter what happens, you must look after Mum because you're a man, and you're her son. We're at the closing ceremony now.

A time for the camp staff and the children to say goodbye to each other. There's a lot of hugs, a lot of tears. I was going to say that it's back to normality for them, but for the children of Ukraine, there is no normality. For a lot of these kids, home means air raid sirens and explosions and fear and of course the constant pain of their missing loved ones. Perhaps now though, after this two weeks at the camp, they'll be better equipped to cope with that pain. And you can hear more of Will Vernon's report on assignment on the BBC World Service. The former CNN correspondent Jim Acosta

has stirred controversy in the United States after broadcasting an interview with an AI avatar of a school shooting victim. Joaquin Oliver was one of the 17 people killed in the Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School match shooting in Parkland, Florida back in 2018. Here's an extract from the interview. Joaquin, I would like to know

what your solution would be for gun violence. Great question. I believe in a mix of stronger gun control laws, mental health support and community engagement. We need to create safe spaces for conversations and connections, making sure everyone feels seen and heard. It's about building a culture of kindness and understanding. The BBC's AI correspondent, Mark Chislaak, told me more. It isn't the first time that avatars of victims of shootings

or victims of school shootings have been broadcast in particular ways. Last year or last couple of years, there have been various robocall campaigns. So a rainbow call is a call that people in the United States will receive that's usually campaigning for political reasons or for a pressure group or something of that nature. And the voices of victims of school shootings were recreated using AI.

And part of that was to try and raise awareness about gun campaigning and about anti-violence campaigns. This interview that's been done with a victim of Parkland, well, not with them, but with an avatar. Who decided what that victim should say? Well, the avatar was created by the parents of Joachim Oliver. And the father says that he understands that this avatar isn't his son. It's not going to bring back his son.

It gives him great comfort to listen to it, but that it isn't his son. And I believe they're working in concert with a campaigning group, which is campaigning about gun violence in the US. So ultimately, who has control or who decides, what it's going to say, the chat bot itself, which is the technology which is driving the avatar, the underlying technology that's controlling the avatar, will say whatever it wants to say. But the information that it's been trained on, the data that has taught it what to do determines pretty much what it will say. So we can surmise that that's basically the parents

and the campaigning group are behind what it says, or at least driving what it says. Now, watching this interview, it looks a bit clunky to me, but there is better AI out there that would make it more realistic, isn't there? Absolutely. When I watched it, I thought this is very probably made with slightly older technology because some of the technology that's around at the moment for the creation of avatars, whether it's in video, whether it's their voices, is much, much better, is much more fluid. It's so convincing, in fact, that it has been used in various scams. It can be used in video. calls and it looks really fluid and very, very realistic. So this is perhaps made with a slightly older technology. It's an ethical minefield though, isn't it? Particularly for journalism when we're talking about trust and responsibility. Absolutely. And you only have to see the effect that this has on audiences. If you look at a lot of social media feeds, they're absolutely chocker block

or full of synthetic content, material that's been created using generative AI. It's now very easy and very cheap to make content using AI, whether it's video or stills or music or whatever. A lot of people are doing it for lots of different reasons, sometimes monetisation, sometimes just for clicks. And our social media feeds are absolutely full of this kind of content. And if you look at the comments, you'll see that there are lots of people who are questioning whether the material they're looking at is AI. Now, this means that we have this huge problem for audiences, this huge problem for social media users. What do you believe if you can't trust your own eyes? So at the very simple level, trust is being eroded by the creation of this type of content.

And often replaced with misinformation. Yeah. In the vacuum, in that vacuum, misinformation, disinformation thrives. Mark Chislak. Coming up. I heard I was getting something, but I had no idea what it was. This is an official icon certificate. Dolly Parton adds a Guinness World Record Icon Award to her trophy.

Cabinet. The UK government's one-in-one-out deal to return migrants to France has come into force after being given a green light by the European Union. Detentions are expected by the end of the week. The deal will allow the UK to send people who've crossed the channel in small boats back to France in exchange for asylum seekers with ties to Britain. Opposition parties say the numbers returned will be low. Correspondent Hugh Schofield is in Paris, and Ellie Price is in Dover on the southern English coast where many boats land. They both spoke to Kashimadira. We'll remember the context of all of this.

It was a policy that was announced a couple of weeks ago when President Macron visited the UK as part of a state visit. And very much top of the agenda was both sides, both France and Britain, wanting to be seen to be doing something about what President Macron described as irregular immigration, i.e. these small boat crossings. the likes of which we see here are on a very regular basis here in Dover. And so I don't think it's that surprising that action has been taken very quickly, that the government made this announcement overnight, and that it says that some of these people could be detained within the next week or so, and indeed returns could be happening rather soon. People here do see the small boats coming in,

they get often brought in by the Coast Guard. And it's those crossings, obviously, that's caused so much controversy. Certainly last week, I think it was last Wednesday, nearly 900 people made a crossing on 13 boats, one of the highest numbers in recent times, pushing the number so far this year to over 25,000 people making that crossing. Ellie Price in Dover, thank you very much.

Well, let's cross over to Paris because Hugh Schofield is there for us. So Hugh, when it comes to France, what changes will this pilot scheme see in France? Well, they'll have to prepare the logistics of all of this, which means, on the one hand, receiving back migrants, We don't know how many they're going to be. I imagine in the early stages of this scheme, not very many, maybe 50 a week or so on.

They'll have to be procedures put in place to receive these people back. And then the question is, where do they go? Under theoretical EU rules, they should then be sent back to the country in which they first arrived in the European Union. That is most unlikely to happen. More than likely they'll want to come and try again, I would imagine. So that has to happen. And on the other hand, the kind of quid pro quo has to be put in place, which is the setting up with the British government's cooperation, obviously of this online procedure for would-be migrants to Britain to apply legally over the internet for that status. That is the one out from France's point of view and the one in from Britain's point of view to replace the people who are sent back.

So that has all got to be put in place. and I don't think it will be for many weeks before we see how this is going to pan out because I can tell you that there's a lot of worry along the coast there in France about this making absolutely no difference at all and about how, as one of them said, you know, what we're getting now is Britain chucking back to us the migrants that they don't want. Hughes Schofield in Paris and you also heard from Ellie Price in Dover. In Germany, a trial is now underway of a former assistant

to a senior member of the far-right alternative for Dover. Deutscheland or AFD Party, who's accused of secretly gathering intelligence for China. The dual nationality, German Chinese man, was the aid to Maximilian Krah, who previously sat in the European Parliament and is now an AFDMP in the German Bundestag. The BBC's Bethany Bell, give us more details. This man who's been named just as Janji has been accused of being a member of the Chinese Secret Service for over 20 years. Now, Germany's federal public prosecutor general says that he worked for the AFD at the European Parliament from 2019 until 2024, and during that time he was the aid to Maximilian Khaar, who was the top candidate for the AFD in last year's European parliamentary elections. Now, the public prosecutor general has accused Janji of using his position at the European Parliament to gamut.

information for China about EU consultations and decisions, including what it says was some particularly sensitive information. And it's also charged him with spying on Chinese dissidents in Germany. And he's now, the trial has begun in Dresden today and it's expected to go on until September. And just how damaging is this do you think to the AFD who have enjoyed some recent electoral success after all? It depends what comes out at the trial. The German Interior Minister Nancy Faser has called the original accusations against Jange is extremely serious. China has rejected this, as they say, it's an attempt to smear and suppress China.

But if in the trial information that he may have collected on the party becomes public, that could potentially be embarrassing for the AFD. There's been speculation about that in the German media. Now, Maximilian Krar is expected to appear as a witness in this case. It also should be said German media is reporting that he's been investigated by prosecutors in Dresden on suspicion of money laundering and corruption during his time at the European Parliament. So presumably there's a lot of interest in the case that's started today. A great deal of interest in the case started today.

As I say, it's expected to last until the end of September, so this will be, a long trial. And there is also another person who is there as well, a Chinese citizen named as Yaki X, who worked at a company at Leipzig Airport. Bethany Bell. Governments from around the world are being urged to take action to tackle the global plastics crisis at the start of the latest UN talks in Geneva. More than 170 countries are meeting for what's intended to be the final round of talks on a legally binding global plastics treaty. Plastics and microplastics, can pose a danger to humans and to animals. But what are the exact health risks?

Tim Frank spoke to one expert, Philip Landrigan, who's director of the Global Observatory on Planetary Health at Boston College in the United States. He's also the lead author of a review paper published in the Lancet Medical Journal. People who use plastics, all of us, are exposed to the chemicals that come out of plastics and get into our bodies and increase risk for multiple diseases.

And then at the end of the life cycle, when plastics are dumped into landfills or burned, they contaminate air, they contaminate water, and contamination of air and water leads to disease in people. Do we have an understanding of how all these chemicals in plastics might affect us? I would say we have detailed and very good knowledge on a small number of chemicals and much less information on the majority of chemicals, many of which have never. even been tested for toxicity. But we know, for example, that phthalates, which are a class of chemicals very widely used in plastics,

can damage the developing brains of newborn infants to reduce IQ, to change their behavior. And these chemicals can also alter reproductive development in baby boys and even increase risk in future life for cancer and heart disease. One of the things people talk about a lot at the moment is microplastics. So when plastic begins to break down and then seep into the environment. What's the science like in terms of understanding

what the medical effects of this are? The science on microplastics is still new, but we certainly know that microplastics are turning up in pretty much every organ of the human body. And the information's just beginning to come in that microplastics can harm human health. I think the most striking report to date is one that came out of Italy last year,

showing that people who had microplastic particles in their arteries had a 450% increased risk of heart disease, stroke, or sudden death. Do you think policymakers are sufficiently seized with the importance of all this? I hope that they'll impose some kind of a cap, which focuses especially on restricting the manufacturer of single-use plastics. And secondly, I would urge the negotiators in Geneva to do something about restricting the most toxic chemicals and increasing transparency around what chemicals go into plastics. I would just say in conclusion that bad as this situation is, I think there's room for optimism

here. If the negotiators in Geneva keep their eye on human health, keep their eye on protecting the vulnerable, we could actually come out of this negotiation two weeks since with a good result. Professor Philip Landrigan. The American country singer Dolly Parton's breakup film role was in 9 to 5, where she played Dorley Rhodes, the boss's blonde secretary. It would have been impossible for the real Dolly to achieve all she's done as businesswoman,

anti-poverty campaigner, champion of reading and, of course, performer working 9 to 5. And her prolific success has now been recognised with an award from Guinness World Records. They're celebrating Dolly Parton as an icon for holding 11 record

breaking titles. Terry Egan has been looking back at Dolly's Long Please don't take my men. Jolene by Dolly Parton, just one of innumerable hits scored by the country star and actor over a 60-year career. Her long list of world records already includes the most studio albums released by a female country singer and most Grammy nominations for a female country artist.

So what do you give such a huge persona to recognise her achievements? Now, Icon is a word we hear at the BBC try to avoid. It's certainly over-exploited to describe everything from startling animals to enduring broadcasters. But Guinness World Records thinks it's the perfect adjective and have summed up all of her awards by naming the 79-year-old Dolly a Guinness World Records icon. Here she is receiving the news in Nashville, Tennessee. Oh, I surely didn't break that many records. What have I done now?

That's what I hear. Look at that. That is amazing. Well, that is something else. I guess when you've lived as long as I have, you ought to be doing something. You're to set some kind of a record just for living that long. Others to have got the honour include Sir Paul McCartney and Taylor Swift, so Dolly Parton is certainly in good company.

Terry Egan on the inimitable Dolly Parton. That's it 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, send us an email. The address is Global Podcast at BBC.C.orgia. You can also find us on X at BBC World Service. Use the hashtag Global NewsPod. This edition was mixed by Chris Hansen. The producers were Stephanie Prentice and Peter Goffin.

The editor is Karen Martin. I'm Valerie Sanderson. Until next time, bye-bye. Thank you.