Global News Podcast - West Bank parents fear after settler attacks on school

Episode Date: September 8, 2026

Palestinians in the occupied West Bank are terrified for their children's lives at school after an increase in attacks by Jewish extremist settlers. Three pupils at a school south of Nablus have been killed since April. Ambulance crews have been stationed on the road outside the school, while several parents have volunteered to stand outside the gates. Meanwhile, the UK is to ban Israeli goods from West Bank settlements as part of a new policy towards Israel. Also: in Ukraine's third-largest city, Odesa, councillors are voting to crack down on the Russian language - even though it's spoken by most residents. Staff at the Eiffel Tower in Paris go on strike after bosses agree to make the site a women-free zone for a visit by a conservative Hindu group. King Charles makes it clear that Harry and Meghan's return to Britain doesn't make them working royals. We ask if loud influencers are ruining tennis tournaments. And in the UK, blind parents are being given 3D prints of ultrasound scans to improve their pregnancy experiences.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]: School children in al-Mughayyir Credit: BBC

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ad-free with an Amazon music subscription. This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service. Hello, I'm Oliver Conway. We're recording this at 4 o'clock GMT on Tuesday the 8th of September. Palestinians in the occupied West Bank fear for their children's lives at school after an increase in settler attacks. Will Ukraine's third largest city Odessa crack down on the Russian language, even though it's spoken by most residents there? And staff at the Eiffel Tower go on strike after bosses agree to make the site a women-free zone for a visit by a conservative Hindu group. Also in this podcast, King Charles makes it clear that Harry and Megan's return to Britain doesn't make them working royals again.

And when I saw it and re-sfeld it, it felt like this was the first time we were actually doing it together, which was amazing. They're so nice to have that before. I mean he's actually with us as well. Yeah, exactly. 3D prints of ultrasound scans for parents who can't see. Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian land are considered illegal under international law. and a huge barrier to any future peace deal. Criticism over expansion plans has grown amid a rise in attacks by Jewish extremist settlers

on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. Now the British government is preparing to announce sanctions on Israeli settlements there. We'll hear the details in a moment, but first to the West Bank itself and a village south of Nablus, where our correspondent Lucy Williamson has been speaking to Palestinians worried about their children's safety. Not everyone came back to school in Almagaya this year. Three pupils here killed in the past few months. And those who did return found changes.

The school itself freshly ringed with barbed wire. In April, a 14-year-old pupil was shot dead by a settler outside the school gates, along with the brother of a teacher. Israel's army said an off-duty reservist had fired at suspects after stones were thrown. Over the summer, two more pupils were killed by Israeli forces after settlers entered the village. The first lecture of the day, if you see settlers or soldiers, don't shout, don't approach, don't react. We're just a couple of hours into the school year here, and already, I'm watching settlers, take their sheep through the fields just on the other side of the road. residents say settlers have been coming further and further into the village every day.

As they have done in all the West Bank, they want us to leave the school to go inside the village. We are not going to leave our school. We are going to study inside our school. We are not going to leave this place. Outside, a few parents stand guard during classes. On the road, ambulance crews. One said injuries from settler attacks here, including injured children, had risen this year after Israeli soldiers had begun protecting settlers during assaults.

A UN commission has described a pattern of settlers intentionally targeting Palestinian children as part of a strategy to drive Palestinians off their land. In July, nine-year-old Saleem was shot in the arm while playing on his family farm outside. al-Moraya. A security camera shows him spotting Israeli settlers nearby, the family running for shelter as gunshots are heard. The bullet still lodged in his arm. All Israeli settlements are illegal under international law, but growing violence by some settlers has increased pressure on Israel, including from the UK, and Palestinian families who have watched the outposts here expand, and now watching their kids. Our Middle East correspondent,

Lucy Williamson. The measures expected to be announced by the British government on Tuesday include a reported ban on all products made in the Jewish settlements. The Israeli government has warned that it will retaliate. I heard more from our diplomatic correspondent, Paul Adams. For the first time, the British government is going to move beyond a position which it's had for decades, which is that Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank are illegal, contrary to international law. Moving beyond that to a position now where the British government will say that any products grown or manufactured in those settlements will be banned. It's something that campaigners have been pushing for for a long time.

The government in the past has been reluctant to go down that route, sometimes arguing that it would be difficult to enforce. It will be difficult to establish what is and is not the product of a Jewish settlement as opposed to coming from Israel proper. But I think that the government, having last year recognized the state of Palestine, feels that it is now necessary to start taking action which shows not just a rhetorical support for Palestinian aspirations, but also that the British government should be seen to be punishing what it sees

as an increasingly untenable situation in the West Bank with the expansion of Jewish settlements and, of course, what we've seen in recent weeks, a real outbreak of settler violence. And how is this likely to go down? with the Israeli government? The Israelis have been furious about this ever since the rumours started flying, which was actually several weeks ago, that the government was moving in this direction. They believe that this is pandering to Palestinian terrorism. You heard the US ambassador to Israel,

Mike Huckabee, talking about this government being infected with Jew hatred. This is something that both in Washington and in Israel will be seen as a hostile move. So far, the White House hasn't actually said anything, even though this is now starting to leak out. Certainly Israel is not going to be happy about this because it is part of a growing international move of sanctions and isolation with other countries, Spain, Ireland, Norway, the Netherlands, all going down a similar route. Is it likely to make the Israeli government change course at all? I don't think anyone thinks that that is likely. This government, under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been expanding settlements at a pretty furious pace.

Let's not forget that there's an Israeli election coming up in which standing up for Israel's biblical rights, as the government would argue, is a matter of faith and also of political necessity, perhaps, for Benjamin Netanyahu. He can't be seen by his political opponents and those on the right in general to be weak on the subject as central as this.

So if anything, it's probably going to put Israeli backs up and stiffen Israeli resolve. I think the government here knows that that is likely to be the Israeli reaction, but feels this is action that it has to take nonetheless. Our diplomatic correspondent, Paul Adams, Russian is the first language of the overwhelming majority of people in Ukraine's third largest city, Odessa. But on Wednesday, counselors there are due to vote on a proposal

to ban Russian from the arts, public institutions and entertainment venues. Millions of people across Ukraine, including many fighting the invaders, speak Russian. But it's seen by some as the language of the enemy. So what's the view in Odessa? Tim Huell has been to find out. It's a muggy summer night in Odessa. Russia is launching missiles at the city every few hours,

but the mask theatre is packed. Veteran comic actor Boris Barski with his trademark waxed moustache keeps the audience rolling in the aisles. with classic Odessa humor in the main language of its streets, Russian. He's allowed to use it on stage because this is a private theatre,

but he's been fined for writing coffee in Russian on the cafe menu. Signs in the language are banned, part of a complex web of restrictions he thinks are absurd. This isn't even like Orwell or Kafka. It's just total madness. Now he's worried

that a proposed moratorium on Russian language content in the public sphere may even extend to songs. More songs have been written about Odessa than any other city. How can you cut them out of our lives? But lawyer Artem Kartashev, who's helped the Council to decolonize Odessa,

changing Soviet and Tsarist-era memorials and street names, says there's a problem with Russian songs in wartime, By the Russian-speaking music or something else, Russians try to deconstruct Ukrainian identity or try to influence, especially on the young people. Language was instrumentalized by Russian Federation as a weapon. Photographer Natalia Mikhailenko agrees she grew up speaking Russian,

but switched to the Ukrainian when she learned about Russia's centuries-long repression of Ukrainian culture. Now, when everyday people killed, it's very hard to hear Russian language. I think it's because of trauma. The most radical people is that people who are lost relatives. Ukrainians already used for most purposes, except private conversation in Odessa, guides, advertising excursions have switched to it for. example, as the law says everyone must use it at work. Ukrainian and Russian are closely related,

and most Odessians understand both. But Anastasia Piliavsky, an anthropologist who's founded a group campaigning for more open discussion of language issues, says that's not the point. The question is not really one of language, but it's one of liberty, right? Because Ukraine has been fighting for freedom. For most Ukrainians, diversity is not a frill. This is what they're fighting, for. This is the reason for this war, right? If you put it on hold, there's nothing to fight for. It's not clear yet whether the Council will approve a moratorium on Russian in the public sphere or what exactly that would mean in practice for Boris Barski's theatre. At the end of his performances, he salutes jesters, his fellow actors, who defend the country by keeping it laughing,

and then it's ultimate defenders, its armed forces. He wants Ukraine to win, but he thinks his country can fight roughly. Russia without needing to fight Russian too. That report from Odessa by Tim Hul. If the Duke and Duchess of Sussex hope to be welcomed back into the royal fold on their return to the UK, they'll have been disappointed by the clarification from King Charles. A letter sent on his behalf to a number of institutions in Britain states that Harry and Megan will not be undertaking any activities as working royals, only as private citizens.

The couple who spent the past six years living in California moved back here last month. A royal correspondent, Aniella Ralph, told us more. The return of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex has thrown up some unexpected moments over the past couple of weeks, and this letter is another one of those. It also comes at the same time as we have seen some new images of Prince Harry on social media of him visiting a TV and podcast studio in London. It is the first sighting we have had of him since returned. turning to the UK with his family. But that letter, which has been written by one of the most

senior royal officials on behalf of the King, makes it clear that Harry and Megan's status is unchanged. It stresses that their titles of his and her Royal Highness will still not be used because they are non-working royals. It describes their charity work as being undertaken only in a private capacity. On Harry and Megan's security provision, it says that is a matter for the relevant police authority. The letter has been sent to a number of public bodies and organisations, including government departments and the military. And it is the royal household asserting its position on Harry and Megan,

which is that they will not be doing any kind of official royal duties. And why now? Well, because over the next few weeks, we are likely to see senior members of the royal family out on royal duty at the same time as the Sussexes are doing their own charity engagements. So this letter was about offering clarity on their status. Ralph. So where does this leave the royal family's relationship with the Sussexes? His royal commentator Jenny Bond. I think the royal family now feel, and I think William has a say in this,

you know, that they are now drawing a line under Harry Megan status and they will be out and about doing their best to get us and the public to focus on what they are up to. Whether they will succeed is quite another question. Because they can say it as much as they want that Harry and Megan are not working royals, and they can say it as much as they want, that they cannot be half in and half out, but I think they are. I think this is really what Harry and Megan have achieved. As the statement makes clear, they can undertake their charitable work in a private capacity, and they can also pursue their commercial interests as they wish. To me, it seems all in name, half in and half out. Royal commentator Jenny Bond.

And still to come on this podcast. Obviously, if you come to a sporting event, you have to respect the sport, especially like the etiquette. I think it has to be managed a lot better. Our loud influences ruining tennis tournaments. Growing businesses deal with the same problem. Too many tools, too much back and forth and not enough time. Odu helps bring it all together. It's an all-in-one business management platform, fully integrated.

from sales and accounting to inventory and marketing, so your team can spend less time chasing information and focus on growth. Whether you're in retail, manufacturing or service, Odu gives you one place to manage your business. Visit Odu.com to book a demo. It's ODb-O.com. Get more with BBC Podcasts, wherever you listen. Be the first to listen to your favorite shows,

like Evil Genius, Good, Bad Billionaire, and You're Dead to Me, with a subscription to BBC Podcasts Premium. on Apple Podcasts. You can also enjoy a range of our podcasts ad-free with an Amazon music subscription. You're listening to the Global News Podcast. The Eiffel Tower was closed on Monday as a result of a row over a visit by a conservative Hindu group with links to the Indian Prime Minister. About 100 members from the BAPS organisation toured the attraction on Saturday. But women working there were apparently told to make themselves scarce to avoid interacting with the group. Staff later went on strike in protest.

Our global affairs reporter Mimi Swaby told me what happened. So the operator of the Neville Tower said a group had requested a private viewing on Saturday. And this group was made up of about 100 members or people linked to the BAPS group. And they part of a delegation, which was a wider group where representatives were in Paris for events linked to the inauguration of a Hindu temple. Now the group went into the tourist hotspot and they had. had their visit organised with the request to limit interaction with women. Now, the operator of the Eiffel Tower acknowledged these conditions should not have been accepted. However, they were.

And female employees were asked to leave their position, step out of sight, and then were replaced by their male counterparts. And this unsurprisingly left them incredibly shocked. And we heard from a workers' union that during the course of the weekend, this shock turned to anger, really sparking outrage among staff. and then drawing criticism from the wider public and French politicians. Yeah, tell us more about the reaction. So the President of the National Assembly has said that welcoming others never means giving up French values. And that in France, women are fully present in public life

and no one tells them to become invisible. And it's really the sidelining and the replacement of female staff during this visit, which has caused a lot of anger and debate, especially online as well. We've heard from the Mayor of Paris, Emmanuel Gregor. He expressed support for the strike in a post on social media on X and described the exclusion of the female workers. It's unacceptable. He said the discontent they had was legitimate. He stood with them. He also said that this incident was contrary to the values that the Eiffel Tower stands for and also said that he personally will make sure that it is amended. Then investigation is launched as soon as possible.

In a statement as well from the trade union, a similar sentiment that they condemned the workplace instructions that, led to female employees being sidelined, again that word being sidelined and then replaced by male colleagues. So all in a similar vein, but a lot of anger across the board from trade unions to the mayor of Paris and the present of the National Assembly being a few examples. Mimi Swayby. It's been a terrible year for the French wine industry. Champagne production is half what it was last year. The cause is a by now familiar one, severe heat and drought, which has damaged vines and grapes. Evan Davis heard more from wine experts. but Gabrielle Visavona.

The French Ministry of Agriculture published its harvest estimate at 33.9 million hectaliters, which is the lowest, not in 30 years, but in 70 years. And these estimates generally are pretty optimistic. So the situation is bad and obviously linked to the climate. Yeah, now two questions. One is about the taste of the wine. Is it a good vintage?

This we will know only afterwards, but generally vintages that are dry, vintages in which the vines are challenged make pretty good vintages, but the quantities are going to be very poor. Do you expect higher prices, maybe even a slightly better wine, but just much less of it? In the last two years, 2025 and 2006, the climate, economically speaking, is very different because there's a huge decrease in consumption. And because the consumers as well are a little bit tired to have these corrections

in prices that never go down afterwards. So I think it might not be the case because the market would backfire. So they don't have the pricing power to say, oh, well, we're selling less, but it's a more scarce resource you pay a little bit more for it this year. I doubt it because if we take the two very last bad vintages, 2017, 2021, the climate was pretty different and the bulk price and the fine wine prices climbed and the exports heat a record in 2022. Today, we have a lot of problems that have been settling down.

World consumption since 2018 has decreased 14%. China, it was a market. We were betting on it big time. And it decreased 73% since 2018. The U.S. first market since 2013 is super unstable. In the last 18 months, there were five different tariff regimes that were adopted by Trump administration. The young generation, they think it's cool to be sober.

And there's this health movement that has been arming wine consumption a lot. So I don't think a price correction would be a good idea. At least for people who bet on volumes, I think they will be very, very annoyed by the situation. Yeah, champagne probably down 48%. Burgundy, 33%. So, yeah, it's a big decrease. Gabriel, Visor Werner, talking to Evan Davis. Noisy influences at this year's US Open tennis have been accused of disrupting play

drawing the anger of players and spectators alike. Now the All-England Lawn Tennis Club has announced curbs on content creators at its tournament at Wimbledon next year. It's an apparent U-turn on its policy of inviting them along to try to bring younger people to the sport. Stephanie Prentice reports. Okay, guys, we're bad. Did you miss us?

Because we did it to you. From spectators live streaming to filming dance routines during points, the US Open tennis tournament was undeniably rowdier than usual over the weekend. It came to a head when a group doing a photo shoot in a hospitality suite turned on a ringlight as two-time champion Naomi Asako was serving, prompting a rare reprimand from the umpire and later from Osaka herself. I think obviously if you come to a sporting event, you have to respect the sport, especially like the etiquette.

I mean, I feel like it could be a good thing for people to make the sport of tennis popular to their specific audience. But I think it has to be managed a lot better, especially in the situation like my first round match. Fellow player Coco Gough said brands inviting influencers have to be responsible for them. Any venue you come to, you have to follow the etiquette towards it. I think it may be on some of the brands too, maybe to have like a sign plastered or something in the suite

so that they know. This was all being watched by another famous tournament, Wimbledon in the UK, who've decided it's game set and match for content creators. I just watch it loud. I don't want to speak because I want to be quiet. Wimbledon is famous for promoting a quiet atmosphere with spectators unable to leave their seat during play, let alone shoot a lip-sinking video.

and it has previously accommodated brands bringing creators in. Does the viral strawberries and creams at Wimbledon actually have 10 strawberries in them? Now it says it will not accredit influencers alongside traditional media at next summer's tournament. And it's also banning key pieces of their kit like lighting rigs. Some influencers have responded saying tennis needs to adapt to modern times. Others say anyone attending has to educate themselves. and play by the rules. Stephanie Prentice.

Seeing your baby for the first time on an ultrasound screen is a moment many parents treasure. A new pilot scheme here in the UK will allow people living with sight loss to experience it too. It turns the scans into 3D printed models, allowing expectant parents to feel the shape and features of their unborn child. Rachel Lloyd is from the organisation Guide Dogs, which is running the initiative. The scans are so visual. It's a photograph, it's a screen. It's very, very tricky to describe. So having something tactile is so meaningful. And it means that actually people are part of that experience and everybody's included. Soon to be parents, Reese and Sophie Finnegan Knight, say the technology has transformed their pregnancy experience.

It was absolutely unreal. We didn't really know what to expect. It's hard to imagine what, you know, an embryo really looks like for me. I've been blind since I was a teenager, really. As far as I've been told, it just looks like a carrot or a potato or whatever vegetable of the week you're on. No. So it was just, it was amazing. It was, you know, the amount of detail that they've managed to get in the scan, you know, being able to really feel the little, you know, facets of the face

and then, you know, the little like bum sticking out and the legs kind of curling around. It's just amazing. I couldn't really believe the amount of detail they'd managed to get on there. I think becoming a parent is scary. whether you're sighted or blind and you just want to hoover up as much information as possible about your baby and I think that's what those early scans

I was quite surprised at how hard I found those because I'm a very, I love being blinded and I'm really proud of being blind and I'm very used to living my life in a different way I was very surprised when we went to that scan and I found it really difficult because it's just such a visual experience and you show the scan to your family and friends

and everyone comments on what they can see and, you know, oh, that looks like you, where it's got a big head like, like you. And I couldn't really join in with that. And that was kind of harder than I thought. So, yeah, getting this and having that little adaptation has just been really special, isn't it? Yeah, so I'm very used to describing things to Rhys on a daily basis. So we went to the scan, and I'm not medically trained. I don't know what I'm looking at.

If anyone's seen a baby scan before, they'll appreciate that it's basically just blobs on a screen. And, yeah, Reese was saying, what can you see? I was trying to talk through it and I just, it didn't feel like we were experiencing it together fully. So we were more focused on hearing that heartbeat, which we had to wait a little bit longer for. But with this, it felt like we were experiencing it, and we opened the box and felt when I saw it and Reese felt it. It felt like this was the first time we were actually doing it together, which was amazing. And so nice to have that before, you know, our baby's actually with us as well. Yeah, exactly.

Stuff like this is so important because it's just, it feels. like such a small thing, but it just means so much. And I think also just having these kind of conversations, you know, people with sight loss are having babies every day and, you know, just having little bits like this that make that process a bit more inclusive and a bit more accessible for blind parents or grandparents or relatives or whatever is just a massive bonus, I think. Rees and Sophie Finnegan Knight. And that is all from us for now, but the Global News podcast will be back very soon. This edition was mixed by Louis Griffin

and produced by Stephanie Zachrisson and Chauvin. Our editors, Karen Martin, I'm Oliver Conway. Until next time, goodbye. Get more with BBC Podcasts, wherever you listen. Be the first to listen to your favourite shows, like Evil Genius, Good, Bad Billionaire, and You're Dead to Me, with a subscription to BBC Podcasts Premium on Apple Podcasts.

You can also enjoy a range of our podcasts, ad-free, with an Amazon music subscription.