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This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service.
I'm Jacqui Leonard and at 13 hours GMT on Wednesday the second of April, these are our main stories.
An Israeli airstrike is reported to have killed at least 19 people at a UN Clinic in Northern Gaza after Israel announced an expansion of its offensive in the territory, Myanmar's army admits to opening fire on a Red Cross convoy from China that was bringing aid to victims of Friday's huge earthquake, and...
Last night at the bank I noticed something about Two -Face.
I know. You called me here for this.
The bat signal is not a beeper.
The American actor Val Kilmer, who appeared in Top Gun, The Doors, and Batman Forever, has died at the age of 65.
Also in this podcast, the Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti goes on trial in Spain for alleged tax fraud and the exponential rise of the One Minute Drama.
Defeating Hamas in Gaza is proving far tougher than many Israelis thought following the October 7 massacre.
18 months after that attack, the defence minister Israel Katz has announced a major expansion of military operations in Gaza, promising to seize large areas of the Palestinian territory which, he said, would be added to the security zones of the state of Israel.
As ever though, civilians seem to be paying a heavy price.
The Hamas -run health ministry said that 19 people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a UN clinic, nine of them children.
Israel's military confirmed it did strike a United Nations facility which it said had been used by Hamas.
Our Middle East correspondent Yellan Nel is in Jerusalem.
Well overall at least 41 people have been killed by Israeli fire in Gaza in the course of the day according to the Hamas -run health ministry that's just put out its latest figures and that includes 19 killed at this UN Health Clinic -turned -shelter for displaced people in in the north of Gaza.
Now the Israeli military has put out a statement saying that it was targeting Hamas terrorists with an airstrike here saying that they were using this site as a command and control centre.
We're still waiting for more details.
A lot is still sketchy but there's been condemnation from the internationally backed Palestinian authorities calling this action by Israel a massacre and there's really harrowing footage which the BBC has not yet verified, which show a baby among those killed, a small child as well, you can see smoke just pouring out of this building.
And let's turn now to this statement by the defense minister, Israel Catt.
Do we know exactly what's being planned and what he's asking of the Gazans?
I mean, he put out this statement this morning, basically saying that large areas of the Gaza Strip would be seized and incorporated into what he called a security zones with large scale evacuations of the population, already Israel has really widened the buffer zone that previously existed around Gaza, has retaken this strategically important corridor which divides the strip into two.
We're hearing from Israeli Army radio but no more confirmation of this yet, that Israeli tanks and ground forces have begun to advance into central and eastern Rafah in southern Gaza.
And there's also these comments from Israel Cats basically asking the population of Gaza, telling them they should rise up against Hamas and free the hostages.
It's believed that there are 24 living hostages that were seized from southern Israel in the 7th of October attacks still alive, being held by Hamas in Gaza.
Of course, we have seen some protests against Hamas by Gazans increasingly desperate in recent days, but on the you're talking about unarmed civilians and it's been nearly 18 months now that Israel with its military offensive has been trying to remove Hamas from power in Gaza and crush it militarily as well.
So far it hasn't managed to do that.
Yolande Nel in Jerusalem.
In Myanmar the army has admitted it opened fire on a convoy of nine vehicles from the Chinese Red Cross as it was driving through Northern Shan state on its way to provide earthquake relief.
No one appears to have been injured.
The military said it hadn't been told about the convoy beforehand.
Our correspondent Nick Marsh is following developments from neighbouring Thailand.
Myanmar's military hunter has said that this Chinese convoy of aid workers failed to stop in a zone of conflict and therefore they sent out some warning shots.
But it does just go show how incredible this situation is that war, that armed conflict is ongoing while people are suffering in the midst of this humanitarian disaster.
Some of the armed militant organisations have actually declared a temporary ceasefire though haven't they?
They have yes but it's a unilateral ceasefire, the military hunter has rejected it.
They were talking in state media this morning and they said that because these rebel groups were continuing with their training of militants because they were continuing with their planning of future attacks the hunter considers this an attack in and of itself and therefore they're not going to stop with their campaigns you know ground offensive in sagain which was one of the worst hit areas by the earthquake that's still going on bombing campaigns are also ongoing there was a village just what 80 kilometers from the epicenter which was hit less than 24 hours after the earthquake struck the people
of myanmar are having to deal with this absolute devastation of an earthquake while still having to live in a zone of conflict.
Well you mentioned Sir Guying.
I know a BBC team has arrived there.
What have they found?
That's right Jackie.
They say that this is the worst situation that they have seen so far.
They have already been to the capital Napier d 'Or, after that they went all the way up to Manderley very near the epicentre.
Bridges had collapsed, roads were unusable, they said that it's essentially a picture of utter destruction there.
They've already smelt bodies in various parts of Myanmar, but also in Saigon, and they've said that there is no rescue work going on in many of these places.
That was Nick Marsh.
The true picture in the more remote areas of Myanmar remains unclear, because communications are still down.
The authorities are also barring some foreign journalists from entering the country.
Our correspondent Nick Beek has been trying to piece together the picture in the once popular tourist destination of Inle Lake in Shan State, which was once one of the country's biggest visitor attractions.
Inle Lake was once Myanmar's aquatic tourist paradise.
A world of bamboo homes perching above the surface.
Fishermen holding oars with their legs to glide their boats through the serene waters.
It's now a floating disaster zone.
Crumpled houses. Submerged restaurants.
Fallen pagodas. The amount of damage here is unbelievable.
An Austrian charity sent us video after they'd driven 14 hours from the largest city Yangon to reach the lake.
Around 100 people died here, many from drowning, as this woman, now When the house collapsed, my niece was swept away in the water and died.
She was only four years old.
There were 256 houses in the neighborhood, but nothing could be recovered.
Jochen Meissner from the charity, called Sona, spoke to us after spending the day giving aid in what is a devastated landscape.
The earthquake has hit massively there.
More than thousand houses are destroyed.
We've been to the two worst affected villages, Chotar, which is 80 per cent destroyed, and Kela which is even bigger, 70 per cent destroyed.
He says they are the first international organisation to reach the area.
Other local charities have arrived and the military have been helping.
That's a stark contrast from where nearby their planes have continued to bomb rebel -held areas including near the epicentre of the quake.
Jochen says people on the lake are now getting some help.
The Myanmar Red Cross and also the Myanmar Fire Brigade were very active and many local volunteers.
So now at least all the people affected by the earthquake have at least the most basic necessities to survive for the next weeks.
The picturesque refuge of Inlay Lake once drew hundreds of thousands of foreign visitors every year, at least before the military coup in 2021.
Civil war stole their livelihoods.
The earthquake stole their lives.
Misery upon misery for the Burmese people.
Nick Beek reporting.
The head of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde, says Donald Trump's sweeping new tariffs due to be announced later on Wednesday will have a negative impact across the world.
There will be much more on what President Trump has called Liberation Day in the next edition of the podcast. Meanwhile, Mr Trump's Republicans have suffered a setback in Wisconsin, where voters have elected a liberal judge to the US state's highest court.
Susan Crawford took about 54 % of the vote, defeating a conservative opponent backed by President and Elon Musk.
It was the most expensive judicial election in US history.
Groups linked to Mr Musk spent heavily on campaigning.
He travelled to Wisconsin to give two voters a million dollars each for signing a petition against what he called activist judges.
Judge Crawford's supporters were Susan!
Susan! Susan! Susan!
Susan! Susan! Susan!
Susan Crawford says her victory proves justice in Wisconsin can't be bought.
Just moments ago I received a phone call from Judge Brad Shimon conceding the race.
As a little girl growing up in Chippewa Falls, I never could have imagined that I'd be taking on the richest man in the world for justice in Wisconsin and we won.
Our correspondent Nomi lethal spoke to us from Wisconsin.
Susan Crawford is a county judge.
She's formerly a private lawyer for Planned Parenthood and had made abortion rights a big issue on the campaign trail.
Now, the Supreme Court election here in Wisconsin is always significant, always closely watched, always has a lot of money pumped into it.
But of course, that was taken to a whole other level with Elon Musk, the world's richest man, being involved.
Here in Milwaukee, which leans democratic, election officials said that they had run out of ballot papers, and they said it was due to what they described as an unprecedented and historic voter turnout.
This result is a setback for President Trump.
He won the swing state of Wisconsin by a small percentage last year in the presidential election.
Interestingly, he didn't actually come here to publicly endorse Brad Shimmel, preferring to do it on social media and also preferring to let his close ally Elon Musk come here and be active.
This is no doubt a boost for the Democratic Party.
But I think the Republican Party can be consoled by the fact that they're held on to two congressional seats in the much warmer state of Florida.
That was Nomiya Iqbal, the American actor Val Kilmer, best known for his roles in some of the biggest Hollywood movies of the 1980s and 90s including Top Gun and Batman Forever has died, he was 65, his daughter said he'd had pneumonia.
Lisa Mazzimba looks back at his life.
At the heart of Top Gun's testosterone fueled action was the rivalry between Val Kilmer's Tom Iceman Kazansky and Tom Cruise's Pete Maverick Mitchell.
Yup for this one Maverick?
Just a walk in the park Kazanski." Both in the air and on the ground.
What's your problem Kazanski?
You're everyone's problem.
That's because every time you go up in the air you're unsafe I don't like you because you're dangerous.
Some said Kilmer might have been playing himself.
Talented, opinionated, supremely self -confident.
I feel better !" After Top Gun, he showed his versatility in fantasy film, Willow — Come to daddy, little darling?
— and he went on to become one of Hollywood's hottest stars.
The high -profile roles piled up, Jim Morrison in Oliver Stone's Doors biopic, Doc Holliday in The Western Tombstone.
Why, Johnny Ringo, you look like somebody just walked over your grave. And he replaced Michael Keaton in cinema's then biggest franchise, in Batman Forever.
Last night at the bank I noticed something about Two -Face.
I know. You called me here for this.
The Bat -Signal is not a beeper.
But for the following decades, partly because of a reputation for being difficult to work with, his career mostly stalled.
Until in 2022 he was welcomed back in the blockbuster sequel Top Gun Maverick, Iceman suffering from the same throat cancer that Kilmer had been diagnosed with in his final years.
The kid needs Maverick that's why I fought for you that's why you're still here.
For this final high profile role his voice recreated using the latest AI technology.
Lee Zoma Zimba on the life of Val Kilmer who's died aged 65.
Still to come on the Global News podcast, a radical new approach in the battle to save the rhino from poachers.
By making a horn slightly radioactive, we make it less desirable for the people who want to own a rhino horn, who want to use it for traditional medicine.
Music Carlo Ancelotti, the manager of the Spanish football club Real Madrid has gone on trial accused of tax fraud.
Mr. Ancelotti, who's Italian, has denied the allegations and he's been speaking in court.
Guy Hedgco is in Madrid.
Prosecutors are saying that Mr. Ancelotti during a previous spell when he was Real Madrid coach in 2014 -2015 that he hid from the the Spanish tax authorities his image rights and that there was substantial revenue from those those image rights and he didn't tell the authorities about it and therefore he defrauded the tax authorities in Spain around a million euros during that time.
So that's the charge which is obviously a very serious one has with it potentially a jail sentence of up to four years and nine months.
And what does Mr Ancelotti say?
Well he said he's done nothing wrong.
In court today, he said he was not aware at all of having committed any kind of fraud.
That was not his intention.
Basically, he's been saying in court that he didn't know anything illegal was being done.
At one point, when he was being questioned, he said, I don't know what you're talking about.
I don't understand any of these questions.
So he was basically saying that he was not aware of this.
As far as he was concerned, this was normal practice, he was told this was normal practice, the way that he was being paid and the way that his money was coming in and the way that he was paying his taxes.
And how long is this case expected to take?
Well, the trial itself is just three days between today and Friday, we've been told.
Then, the verdict, we don't expect an immediate verdict.
These sort of cases, it might take a few days, it might even take a few weeks.
Obviously it will be widely awaited because of the fame that Carlo Ancelotti has in Spain.
He's a very well -known figure and he's a well -known figure in the sports world in general.
And just briefly, Guy, he's by no means the first famous football name to be investigated by the Spanish authorities over tax, is he?
No, not at all. I mean, there have been a number of football coaches and players in Spain who've been investigated and charged with tax fraud, among them Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo a few years back.
In those cases, they were actually given jail sentences, but they were much lower than the prosecutor was asking for.
So they didn't obviously go to jail, and they ended up paying large fines.
So we don't know what will happen with this, but I think people will be following the case very closely with Carlo Ancelotti Guy Hedge Co in Madrid Residents of the city of Mirbalet in Haiti are caught up in a terrifying confrontation between criminal gangs and the police After the local prison was stormed on Monday and hundreds of inmates were freed Many people have fled the town to escape the fighting But others are reported to have armed themselves to carry out patrols and to kill some of the escaped prisoners Our Americas Regional Editor Leonardo Roscia, told Junat Jalil more about the situation in Mirbalé.
From what the authorities are saying it's really getting out of control.
You have this coalition of gangs called Vive -Incent.
They are the ones who stormed this police and prison compound and freed more than 500 inmates.
But there are different gangs and they're fighting in the streets of the city.
It's a city of about 100 ,000 people not far from Port -au -Prince about 60 kilometres from there.
And they set up their base at the high school in the city.
Many buildings have been destroyed, reports of real violence, many people left. And as you mentioned, others have set up their own armed militias to fight the gangs.
And the gangs are fighting between themselves for control of the city.
It's a worry in development, because gangs already control about 80 -85 % of the capital, Port -au -Prince, they charge tolls, basically extortion money from people from traveling in buses from one city to the other.
They stop, they're forced to pay money.
So it might be the case that they are expanding to other parts of Haiti, that seems to be the case.
And this all comes despite the deployment of a Kenyan -led security force that was supposed to help the Haitian police battle the gangs, but have instead themselves come under attack.
That's right, what I saw on local media is that two members of this international force led by the Kenyans have already been killed, and the overall impressions, they've had very little impact on the situation on the ground.
A year ago, there was a lot of hope for Haiti, because this transitional council was installed with the support of the international community, the main donors, the United States, Canada in the European Union.
And they were hoping to restore order within 18 months, it hasn't happened, and set up elections for February next year.
It all looks very, very weak at the moment, very difficult to believe that that will happen unless in October when the UN meets to renew a mandate for this multinational force, unless they decide to beef up the force and to deploy troops in Haiti, which is something very controversial, but might be the solution that they agree at the time.
That was Leonardo Rosca.
The global rhino population has fallen dramatically from an estimated half a million at the beginning of the 20th century to just 28 ,000 today largely because of poaching for their horns.
Scientists in South Africa have now gone nuclear, literally, to try to protect these magnificent beasts.
Our reporter Ayanda Charlie traveled north of Johannesburg to find out more.
I'm standing in what is essentially the middle of the wilderness.
Anyway I turn. In every direction I see a rhino either on the ground from having been just sedated or feasting on a heap of grass awaiting its turn to be sedated and there is a team of vets and scientists about two meters away from me huddled around a sedated rhino, taking measurements, recording vitals.
Why am I in the middle of the wilderness?
Well, six months ago, scientists here took what you might call an atomic approach to stopping poaching by putting radioactive material into the horns of 20 rhinos.
Today, I've joined a team of vets and scientists in the Reserve as they health check the rhinos to make sure they are ok following their nuclear treatment.
The whole process from implanting the radioactive isotopes to today's checks is a far gentler message than say dehorning.
Professor James Larkin of the University of the Witwatersrand has been leading what's known as the Rhizotope Project.
This whole project works on two key thoughts.
By making a horn slightly radioactive, we make it less desirable for the people who want to own a rhino horn, who want to use it for traditional medicine.
And the second is the level of radioactive material in the horn makes these horns significantly easier to detect as they are moved.
There are nuclear detection systems at many border crossings and other transport hubs.
If a poached horn passes through one, it would be detected and considered a nuclear security incident.
And instead of simply being a poaching offence, it becomes something far more serious.
But it isn't just about making the horns radioactive.
The project has a wider ambition of breaking the cycle of power that poaching gangs hold over nearby communities by providing new services and facilities paid for by fund -raising in the name of rhino conservation.
They are also in the early stages of teaching children in the area about the importance of protecting rhinos.
Co -lead of the project, Jessica Babbage, ultimately wants to create a network of so -called rhino champions.
Everybody needs to be a rhino champion, as far as I am concerned.
It does not matter who you are, where you are.
You need to understand that rhinos as a species is an ambassador of living things.
Rhinos have this amazing ability to unite us when we start understanding how by helping them, we actually help ourselves.
Rhinos saving people and people saving rhinos.
That report was by Ianda Charley.
Several studies have found that people with high levels of cholesterol in the blood are more likely to develop dementia.
Statins are used to lower cholesterol to reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes and some scientists believe they also offer protection against dementia.
Now new research from South Korea has added more weight to that theory.
The findings were published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry.
Professor Tara Spires -Jones is the president of the British Neuroscience Association.
She wasn't involved in the study but she has at it.
This is a very interesting study.
Dr Lee and team from 11 University hospitals in South Korea had a look at data from over half a million people to ask the question of whether their LDLC or low density lipoprotein receptor cholesterol was associated with dementia risk.
And the top line is low LDL cholesterol was associated with 26 % reduced risk of dementia, including a reduced risk of Alzheimer's disease, the most common cause of dementia.
and statins, as you mentioned, help even a little bit more.
So statins were protective.
Statins lowered that type of what some people called bad cholesterol.
So this is good. It's showing that there's a risk factor that we can have some control over, but it's not the end of the story.
So about 40 % of dementias could be prevented by lifestyle factors like eating well and exercising and keeping your brain active.
But that's not to blame people living with dementia because the other 60 % are a bad luck combination of genes and age.
This is adding to the data suggesting that we really do need to take care of our blood vessels in order to reduce our own Brain risk so at the minute This is data that's been published in a peer -reviewed journal and it's adding to scientific knowledge and eventually this will translate into changes in practice So you can speak to your GP about whether you have had cholesterol because there are things we can do today to lower our own Cholesterol so it may eventually change practice to help us reduce our risk of dementia, right?
We want to encourage people to lead an overall healthy lifestyle, which includes exercise, eating well, not banging your head, not smoking, that type of thing.
There are 14 risk factors we can control and some of those can be aided by medications.
But we really want to look at the whole picture and make sure that we're doing our best to protect our brains as we age.
That was Professor Tara Spires -Jones.
Now many of us enjoy immersing ourselves in television box sets, binging on them for hours on end.
Now, though, more and more viewers are enjoying dramas which run for no more than one minute.
You belong with me falling for a superstar, my unwanted billionaire ex are some of them.
Here's half of another one, my secret agent husband.
Lucas, you remember Senator Thompson and his lovely daughter Sophia?
What are they doing here?
To discuss our marriage, you moron.
Dad, I told you not to get involved in my personal affairs.
I don't want to get wrapped up in some political marriage.
Of course you do! Senator Thompson is going to pass a bill that will benefit us tremendously.
They want to be part of the family.
Ew, don't say family!
It's never been about family!
It's about your profits and your stocks.
Blah blah blah blah blah!
You still haven't changed.
Are you gripped yet?
The trend, which started in China, has become known as vertical drama series because they're filmed to be seen on smartphones.
It's also been described as TV for the tiktok generation.
My colleague Emma Barnett spoke to Rory Chambers, who started making them after he left London Film School and Jen Cooper, a big fan who runs a website, Vertical Drama Love.
I think it's just the convenience because it's on your phone.
I also really like the fact that you get a whole film broken up into the clip so you can stop and start as you want.
It's a lot easier as well because you're acting on phone.
You're not trying to get to a cinema.
I've also invested in too many TV series over the years that then get cancelled.
So I like something that I can finish the project in one.
And what would you say Rory to the question?
Are they any good? Um it's complicated.
I personally don't watch them but I can see the appeal.
You make them but don't watch them?
I make them, I watch them for research, when I'm going to make one I'll sort of do a bit of research into the tropes and the style, but they're very gripping, they're very like addictive is what I would say.
Is there any sadness about making this?
No, not at all, I mean I've always wanted to be a director and And my biggest fear, leaving film school was like, how am I going to get work?
And a year ago, I didn't even know this existed.
I didn't know it was a thing.
And just to be doing directing for my job, I'm happy to be doing.
I mean, sadness, perhaps isn't a word, but I'm struck that you don't watch them.
You know, it's an interesting tension to make content that you don't want to watch. Well, I love movies.
I love cinema. When I watch something, I want to be in a cinema.
Yeah, in a big screen environment.
I do, like I said, I do occasionally watch them for research purposes.
But Jenn, for you, what are people telling you about why they're turning to these dramas?
So I've set up a site and I'm ending up talking to fans all around the world.
And some of these shows they're getting 200 -300 million views worldwide, it is global.
And I think for a lot of people, they want escapism, they want a dopamine hit, they want good overcoming evil, they like that the tropes are recognisable, they kind of know what they're going to get.
And the talent and creativity in it is phenomenal.
it's just the ideas, the acting talent.
It really is I think much more interesting than a lot of mainstream media at the moment.
I think it does feed into that attention span of we want something quicker, shorter.
And these things are the master of the click bait title, they are the master of the Cliffhanger.
And it moves on really fast. And I think it's just where people's brains and attention span is now.
And they're joyous.
They're just they're so much fun.
That was Jen Cooper and before her we heard from Rory Chambers.
And that's it from us for now, but there will be a new edition of the Global News Podcast later.
If you'd like to comment on this one or the topics covered in it, do please send us an email.
The address is globalpodcast .co .uk.
You can also find us on x at BBC World Service.
Just use the hashtag global news pod.
This edition was mixed by Darcy Aubrey who apparently loves a good vertical drama.
The producer was Emma Joseph.
Our editor is Karen Martyn.
I'm Jackie Leonard. And until next time, goodbye!
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