Global News Podcast: Gaza Strip on 'edge of catastrophe' as Israeli siege intensifies

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.

Have you ever wondered what sets exceptional leaders apart? Discover how renowned leaders

from around the globe have harnessed their natural talents to achieve remarkable success.

Uncover the secrets of leadership excellence, one strength at a time, through gallops leading

with strengths. Dive into compelling stories at leadingwithstrengths.com.

This is the Global News podcast from the BBC World Service.

I'm Jackie Leonard and at 13 hours GMT on Tuesday the 17th of October, these are our

main stories. UN agencies have warned of a catastrophe in Gaza as fuel, water and food

are within hours of running out. Belgian police have shot dead the man who murdered two Swedish

football fans and India's Supreme Court has declined to allow same-sex marriages. Also

in this podcast, why the appeal of building a new world is leading to record sales for

one video game.

We begin this podcast in Gaza. Life-saving supplies are waiting in trucks at the border

in Egypt awaiting permission to enter. There are warnings of a humanitarian disaster if

aid doesn't get through soon. The population of Khan Yunis in southern Gaza has almost

doubled with hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fleeing from the north. The UN has warned that

Israel's urging of the move without providing food or accommodation could be a war crime.

Juliette Tumar, a spokeswoman for the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees, says they

are providing aid where possible.

We are overwhelmed. Our supplies are dwindling and running out fast. Our staff are also very,

very tired. They have been impacted themselves by the war. Many of them lost loved ones.

We have sadly lost 14 staff members and these numbers continue to increase.

The BBC's Rushdie Abu Alouf is in Khan Yunis in southern Gaza, close to the Rafa crossing

into Egypt. He says witnesses filmed an airstrike in the area on Monday. He spoke to us over

the constant harm of drones overhead.

This airstrike is the third in the last couple of days and it targeted the road that lead

to the Egyptian side of the crossing. I was given a rare access to a CCTV camera inside

the terminal so I was able to see the damage. The road that access is not usable. They need

to repair it. They told me they could repair it very quickly and very easily but they need

an Egyptian to approve the opening of the crossing. So we have to differentiate between

the crossing that allowed people, individual in and out and the terminal which is the commercial

side of the crossing. I'm not aware of any damage to that property and we haven't heard

any airstrike in that area. We understand there is 4,000 trucks on the Egyptian side.

Not sure if they are close to the border but I was able to confirm that they were inside

Al-Arij city which is about 60 kilometers to the south of Gaza. This aid convoy is

really needed in Gaza. As the local authority here saying that we are at the edge of a catastrophic

situation, the hospital where I stand now is called Nasser hospital. It's the main hospital

in the south now providing services for 1.1 million people and they said they will shut

their operation because they are going to run out of fuel and this is going to be a disaster

for the city of Khanounis. I was rushed to Abu Alouf in southern Gaza. President Biden

plans to visit Israel on Wednesday. His visit is being seen as a show of solidarity as Israel

continues its war against Hamas. Yolande Nell is in Jerusalem and she told us more about

what's behind the visit. This is a vital wartime solidarity visit. It's been very much welcomed

by Israeli officials. Already of course we have the big show of military support at least

two aircraft carriers in the region that the US has sent along with other warships to show

that it's ready not just to support Israel in this ongoing effort in Gaza but also that

it wants to try to stop this conflict from bordering. You know there's a lot of worry

at the moment about fighting, getting worse with the powerful Lebanese militant group

Hezbollah and they've been exchanged as a fire with the Israeli military just in the

past few hours across the border and of course threats from Hezbollah's ally Iran which

also backs both Hamas and Islamic jihad. I think for the Israelis this is coming just

as it's getting ready for its escalation and its offensive against Hamas militants in

Gaza so this will be almost like a way of getting a sign off from the US President. The

US Secretary of State said that Mr Biden will hear from Israel how it will conduct its operations

in a way that minimizes civilian casualties and it's also about dealing with the humanitarian

crisis in Gaza and we're told that they're going to look at ways to enable humanitarian

assistance to flow to civilians in Gaza in a way that does not benefit Hamas. That's

the big concern there. There was an indication from Mr Blinken that he and the Israeli Prime

Minister had agreed to develop a plan to get humanitarian aid into Gaza but he didn't provide

details. There has been a lot of talk about the Israeli ground offensive. Will Mr Biden's

presence be expected to affect its timing? There's going to be huge security involved

in this visit even though it's just a very brief one. I mean Mr Blinken will be aware

of the dangers. He had to go into a bunker at one point when he was meeting the Israeli

Prime Minister because of rocket fire from Gaza and there are other complications of

course in this Israeli ground offensive. We know that there are according to Israel about

200 people who are being held hostage Israelis and some dual nationals including a number

of Americans and that is a big consideration too. Yolanda now in Jerusalem. More than 100

people remain unaccounted for since Hamas launched its attack on Israel from Gaza and

volunteers are checking a huge area while also ensuring that any remains are collected

according to strict Jewish customs. Dan Johnson has been following a team from an organisation

called the 360 National Rescue Unit. I should warn you that some details in his report are

upsetting. On this army base not far from Tel Aviv there is a big warehouse which is dealing

with all the bodies from last week's attacks. Hundreds that have been brought here for the

delicate forensic work of identification. Moshi Malayev is a medic and a volunteer.

I never saw anything close to what I saw. It's been horrible. First body I took out

from the truck. She was maybe five or six years old girl with the blonde hair with blue

eyes with terrifying look on our face. The body was twisted. Burned bodies, deheaded

bodies, parts of bodies. Horrible things. I've come with Moshi and his colleague Mayib

Barel to the area of Israel close to Gaza and they've been asked to help with the continued

search for the bodies of those who are missing. The army said that there is 199 people that

in Gaza. And we found just 958 bodies. So like 100 missing. People was hiding in any holes

or caves or anything else. We start with smelling. That people smell very strong. You've got

a huge area to cover here. This is difficult, delicate work and it's going on in what's

an increasingly active military zone because this is exactly where the army build up is

taking place. Why is it you guys doing this work? You're volunteers, right? Yes. It's

got to do a little bit because we're religious. We feel that we do something holy, keep the

bodies dignified. And we have the Jewish law. And you're determined to complete that

work to give those families the answers? Absolutely. Yes. The families are broken. The family

are broken. Where are we now? There was the party. The music festival. Most of the recovery

work has already been done here but the guys are going through checking things like tents.

Are we actually looking for blood or pieces? Organs. Body parts. Yeah. A piece of the head.

They found what they think might be a piece of somebody's scalp. It does look like there's

some hair. So they're just putting on a mask and gloves and collecting that up. So anything

you found will be DNA tested. Yes. They'll try and match it. I hope because there is

so many, so many dead. Organs. A lot. A lot of blood. Maybe the brain. Much more difficult

for me to be here than being with the bodies. Really? Yes. I mean, I can see the life that

has been stopped in one second. You can actually see that here. Evil needs to be eliminated

from the world. I mean, I feel sorry for the innocent people who will die in Gaza. I really

do because I know I see bodies here. I know what it is. But unfortunately, we don't have

time to think about them. We just need to think about ourselves right now. What's the

thing you've seen that you found saddest, most upsetting or has had the biggest impact on

you? Children. Children. A lot of children.

Washe Malayev ending that report by Dan Johnson. Now, you might have heard the special edition

that we recorded answering listeners questions on events in Israel and Gaza. The response

was such that we are going to do another one. So do please send us your questions. Anything

that you want explained and our correspondence will try to provide context and clarity. You

know what to do. Please record us a voice message or simply write your question and

email it to the usual address globalpodcast at bbc.co.uk.

Belgian police have shot and killed a man who was wanted in connection with the murder

of two Swedish football fans in Brussels on Monday evening. The 45-year-old suspect was

shot and killed in a café by police on Tuesday morning. Giving details at a news conference,

the Belgian Justice Minister, Vincent van Quickenbornner, said the attacker was known

to the authorities and is thought to have been inspired by militant Islamists.

The suspect is a 45-year-old Tunisian who applied for asylum in our country in November

2019. He was known to the police for suspicious acts, human trafficking, illegal residents

and breaches of state security. In July 2016, unconfirmed information was passed on by a

foreign police service that the man had a radicalised profile and wanted to leave for

a conflict zone to wage G-Head. Another person was injured in Monday night's attack ahead

of the Belgium-Swedan football match in the capital. The BBC's Sophia Bettitzer, who's

in Brussels, told us more about the suspect.

He was shot dead by police in Skarbek, which is a neighbourhood of Brussels where he lived.

He was shot at a café, just a few streets where I'm talking to you from and this whole

area has now been cordoned off and there's quite a big police presence. The police is

treating this as a terrorist attack and they have raised the alert level for Brussels to

fall, which is the highest level and it means that a threat could be imminent.

And just to take a step back, remind us about what happened with the shootings last night.

So last night, at around 7pm, the gunman opened fire in central Brussels. He had an automatic

rifle and he shot dead two Swedish nationals. Now they were both wearing football shirts

so it is very possible that they were here in Brussels for a football match that was

taking place here last night. Now we have been sent videos of a man who was filming

himself on a scooter speaking in Arabic and saying that he killed people in the name of

God. Now we haven't verified that video but the federal prosecutors say that the

man in the video is indeed the gunman and they don't know what the motive of the killing

is but they believe that he was inspired by the Islamic State group and that is why they

are treating this as a terrorist attack.

And just finally Sophia, what sort of reaction has there been across Europe?

So I mean this sort of attack is very unusual for a place like Brussels. The authorities

have made it very clear that they don't think this is in any way related to what is happening

to the Middle East but of course this comes just a few days after a man stabbed to death

a teacher in France and so there is a lot of people in Europe are quite nervous at the

possibility of more terror attacks.

Sophia bet it's in Brussels. To Ukraine now where tens of thousands of people have lost

limbs because of land mines that Russian troops have spread over at least a third of the country.

Now a Ukrainian company that once made springs for trucks has changed attack and is manufacturing

attachments for boots that will help soldiers remove mines safely.

Wendy Urkut reports.

A mine exploding is probably the most frightening prospect for any soldier or civilian and during

the war in Ukraine thousands of what are known as butterfly mines have been dropped across

the country. Stepping on one could cause major damage to your foot and a growing number

of people are losing limbs because of them. But that could be all about to change because

at a factory in Ukraine more than forty 3D printers are in full swing making what are

called spider boots. They're made of heavy duty plastic, have four prongs on the bottom

and adjustable straps on the top similar to the attachments on skis and they fit over

normal shoes or boots. The prongs elevate the foot which means the epicenter of the

blast is further away. The spider boots were tested using mannequins and a hundred grams

of TNT. Vadim Vochenko from the Ukrainian Spring Centre says it took a while to get

it right but now in every test the foot of the mannequin survives and the sole of the

spider boot remains intact. We printed five different prototypes using different plastics.

Now one boot can withstand an explosion equal to 200 kilos. They're not the first spider

boots ever to be made but they are the first to be manufactured in Ukraine. At four hundred

dollars a pair they're not cheap but they are desperately needed.

Wendier Kurt reporting.

Still to come in this podcast. It's an art form so it has all to do with art but also

being in fashion. From Adele's tuxedo nails to JLo's glazed doughnut how painting nails

became a multi-billion dollar business that attracts a lot of competition.

Have you ever wondered what sets exceptional leaders apart? Discover how renowned leaders

from around the globe have harnessed their natural talents to achieve remarkable success.

Uncover the secrets of leadership excellence. One strength at a time. Through gallops leading

with strengths. Dive into compelling stories at leadingwithstrengths.com.

The Indian Supreme Court has declined to recognise same-sex marriage. The Chief Justice said laws

on marriage equality were the domain of parliament. But the court asked the government to review

legislation so that same-sex partners had the same benefits as married couples. A number

of same-sex couples had petitioned the court arguing that not being able to marry violated

their constitutional rights and made them second-class citizens. Outside the court activists

had assembled to hear the judgement.

The court has given a partial judgement. It's a diplomatic judgement but I am trying to focus

on the positive side that it has happened that I can finally adopt a child of my own.

So of course this is a start. A person from Peelage also can recognise that if they are

from a same-sex person and they can get marriage and they can register their marriage. I have

really been disappointed by the judgement because I expected same-sex marriage to get

equalised but unfortunately it didn't.

A correspondent Samira Hussein was out the court in Delhi.

It was a really nuanced decision. What the court said was that they are not in a position

to say that same-sex marriage rather should be legalised. That is an issue that should

be left up to parliament. So they are essentially saying this is something that parliament needs

to do. However all five Supreme Court justices agreed that same-sex marriage should be allowed.

What they are really saying here is that look there are so many material benefits that married

couples get like tax benefits and pension benefits that they are being discriminated against

because they are not able to enter into a marital union. They can't get those benefits.

So what they have tasked the government to do is to go back and figure out ways to make

sure that they are not discriminated against because they are not allowed to get married.

And what sort of reaction has there been from those who have been pressing for same-sex marriage?

What next for them?

Well it is interesting. I am actually outside the Supreme Court and there were many activists

that had gathered here to listen to the verdict and you just saw clumps of people huddled

around a cell phone to listen to the live stream of the verdict and as it became more

and more clear you can sense that sort of the atmosphere sort of became a lot more quiet.

It just seemed that people were deflated, disappointed again that the court had decided

that it can't adjudicate in this matter.

As you say though it was a fairly nuanced judgement. How much of a hot topic has this

actually been in India? What have people been saying about it?

Well it is certainly a topic of massive amounts of importance to the tens of millions of LGBTQ

people here in this country. Now remember India in 2018 actually decriminalised gay sex which

was seen as a big move for the country. This was sort of the next logical step for activists

to have same-sex marriages recognised. And so it is a topic of great importance for so

many people especially young people in this country.

Samira Hussein in Delhi.

The Amazon rainforest is experiencing one of its worst droughts on record. On Monday the

Amazon River was recorded at its lowest level in more than a century. At one point of the

river in Manaus, the region's most populous city, the water level is four metres lower

than this time last year and it's causing huge problems for people living there. Professor

Lorenzo Pellegrini from the International Institute of Social Studies in the Netherlands

has been studying deforestation in the Amazon.

There are several effects here that probably are playing a role. So there is global climate

change of course that makes these events more likely and then there is local climate

change. And of course the drought also makes it more possible, more likely to have yet

more deforestation because these are conditions that are perfect for wildfires. This is a part

of a chain of events that have definitely consequences at the global level. We have seen wildlife

and dangerous species victims of this. For example the pink river dolphin which is one

of those emblematic mammals that are endangered in the Amazon, but of course there is much,

much more. There is so much biodiversity that we don't know even most of the species that

are there. The Amazon basin of course is the way transportation takes place there, but

of course it's also the source of water for local communities, especially in rural areas.

So the water there is really the way transportation takes place, but also fundamental for the

livelihood of the local communities. For example if they run out of clean sources of

water they will use water that is much less clean and if they run out also of gas they

will not be able for example to boil their water. So these are then also quite dangerous

situations also for human health. Professor Lorenzo Pellegrini. Microplastics are a growing

concern for governments around the world and now the European Commission is stepping up

its attempts to tackle microplastic pollution. Under new rules products that are deliberately

made with microplastics are banned, but that's not all. They also want companies to check for

possible leaks when making things with microplastic pellets. Here's the BBC's Katie Silver.

So these are called noodles. They basically act like the building blocks for most of

the world's plastic production. They go into everything from car bumpers, office chairs,

water bottles, salad bowls, you name it. But the problem is they leak into the environment

at every step of the supply chain. So the commission estimates that there's between 52,000 and 184,000

tons of plastic pellets that are leased into the environment in the EU each year. So they're hoping

to introduce a number of tougher rules for companies that use the tiny materials. These

companies are going to need to conduct risk assessments to make sure that they don't do

any spillage and if they do the measures that they can take once this happens larger companies

are going to need these plans verified by independent operators and they can face sanctions

for violations. Katie Silver. Manicures and nail art are very big business. The industry's worth

more than $20 billion globally. Nowadays it's fueled by social media where people share their

designs. Over the past two days hundreds of technicians from more than 30 countries have

been taking this to the next level attending the world's biggest nail art competition known as

Nailimpia here in London. Our reporter Nikki Cardwell went along. I'm looking at one of the

finished entries for this year's Nailimpia. Each individual nail is beautifully painted and detailed.

When the model's fingers are held together they make up an amazingly complex design.

All the entries have to be properly applied to the model's hand and be structurally sound

as well as beautiful. Anna Kovandassar from the Netherlands is the competition's chief judge.

She thinks the appeal is that these spectacular designs can be worn by anyone. It's an art form

but it's also becoming like an accessory for the end user because she wants to have her nails

painted or coloured or she's going to a special party. So it has all to do with art but also

being in fashion. I think there is not one woman who doesn't wear any colour on her nails.

Mexico's Ismael Camero won the fantasy category with a huge 3D day of the dead design.

Would you like to see some of your work in a big museum somewhere?

You haven't think about it but it's endless possibilities. With the Chinese nail market

worth nearly two billion pounds a year alone next year Nailimpia will be going to China for the

first time. The organisers are anticipating that it will be their biggest event yet with the promise

of 500 local competitors on top of those from the rest of the world. Nikki Cardwell and we end

this podcast on a record breaker as Minecraft the highest selling game of all time becomes the

first video game to sell 300 million copies. So what's the appeal? In essence it's all about

building a virtual world. That's what that is that's building a virtual world. Peter Goffin told

Alex Ritz and more about why Minecraft keeps outselling any other game by such a huge margin.

The makers of Minecraft a Swedish company called Mojang Studios announced this achievement at the

weekend that the game has sold 300 million copies since its release 14 years ago. Now as you mentioned

Minecraft is already the highest selling video game of all time by a long shot. Grand Theft Auto 5

is a distant second having sold 185 million copies over the past 10 years. So what makes Minecraft

so popular? Well at its most basic it's about using blocks to build things a bit like digital

Lego except you can't really run out of blocks and you can't run out of space so you can create

cities, mountains, entire landscapes and interact with players online. It's challenging enough for

adults but it's also become known especially as a game that a lot of parents are happy for their

children to play because it's an outlet for creativity and strategy and unlike Grand Theft Auto

for instance Minecraft is not based around violence or mature themes. Yeah it's incredible 300 million

copies of Minecraft sold that really says something about the whole strength of the industry doesn't

it? It does and I don't want to burst Minecraft's bubble but it's not even the biggest video game

brand out there. It's sold the most for a single standalone game but Tetris the puzzle game that

came out in the 1980s has sold more than 500 million copies of its various versions and my

favorite my generation's favorite the Mario franchise maybe the best known video game of all

time has sold more than 800 million copies of its games. It's become a bona fide cultural phenomenon.

As is Peter Goffin and that's it from us for now but there will be a new edition of the Global

News podcast later if you would like to comment on this edition or the topics covered in it do

please send us an email the address is globalpodcast.bbc.co.uk you can also find us on ex formally

known as Twitter at Global News Pod this edition was mixed by Joe McCartney the producer was Stephanie

Prentice our editor is Karen Martin I'm Jackie Leonard and until next time goodbye.

Have you ever wondered what sets exceptional leaders apart?

Discover how renowned leaders from around the globe have harnessed their natural talents

to achieve remarkable success uncover the secrets of leadership excellence

one strength at a time through gallops leading with strengths

dive into compelling stories at leadingwithstrengths.com

Machine-generated transcript that may contain inaccuracies.