Global News Podcast: Israel's Defence Minister sacked by Benjamin Netanyahu
BBC 3/26/23 - Episode Page - 28m - PDF Transcript
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This is the Global News podcast from the BBC World Service.
I'm Janet Jalil and in the early hours of Monday the 27th of March these are our main stories.
Tens of thousands of Israelis take to the streets again after the Defence Minister is sacked by
Benjamin Netanyahu for opposing his judicial overhaul. NATO allies voice their concerns over
Russia's plans to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. At least 29 people have
drowned in the latest migrant boat sinkings off the coast of Tunisia.
Also in this podcast we look back on the life of the founder of one of the world's biggest
dumpling empires.
As we record this podcast the political crisis in Israel is intensifying even further.
The Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has sacked the Defence Minister Joav Galant
after he broke ranks and urged the government to ditch its highly controversial plans to
reform the judicial system. Tens of thousands of Israelis have again taken to the streets
to protest with reports that barriers near Mr Netanyahu's home in Jerusalem had been breached.
Our correspondent there Anna Foster described the scene.
Well what you can hear probably tells you a lot about what I can see right now. We're in
central Jerusalem. This protest started outside the home of the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu and it's now broken away and they're heading towards the connective Israeli parliament
because of course this is all about legislation and legislation that these protesters are trying
to stop. The problem is police are out of course soldiers are out as well I've just seen one with
his baton drawn and in fact a water cannon has just come flying down this street drenching
this particular group of protesters as it went. What they're doing now is climbing through some
undergrowth because all of these main roads are closed. They are determined to get to the parliament
and to make their their feelings felt and this is just Jerusalem. These protests are happening
across the country. There are tens of thousands of people out in central Tel Aviv blocking the
aisle on highway. We're hearing about protests right across the country tonight in response
to the sacking of Joav Galant, Israel's Defence Minister.
Yet you mentioned that sacking of Joav Galant. Just to explain how it all came to this his
departure and perhaps most important might other members of this government leave with him?
Well that's a very good question that the key thing is that he is a member of Benjamin Netanyahu's
Likud party and that's why this is particularly galling for Mr Netanyahu because he needs to
try and hold this coalition together if he wants to remain in power and if he wants to push this
legislation through which is something that his far right coalition co-members are very very much
pushing for. Now Joav Galant was originally going to make a statement. I should just say by the way
while I'm talking to you we're climbing through this undergrowth if you're wondering why I sound
a little bit unsteady that is why because we're sticking with this protest as they head the
Knesset and Joav Galant was originally going to make a statement on Thursday evening but he had
a meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu who managed to persuade him not to go public but then last night
he did he made a televised statement and he called for this legislation to be paused and then of
course 24 hours later we see this sacking and a really dangerous moment for this country which
has seen protests like this for 12 weeks now and for Benjamin Netanyahu if he wants to try and
keep a lid on what is happening here now. Yeah Mr Netanyahu seems to have been able to weather
all sorts of political storms throughout his career could this really be the greatest challenge is
his government at risk now. I think what you're seeing here is a prime minister who treasures
power as so many do and of course remember that he has had now a period where he wasn't leading
this country. He came back into power in November of last year at the most recent election and in
order to do that he had to form this coalition with some of the most far right elements of Israeli
politics now he is desperate to try and keep his job that is why he is trying so hard to push this
legislation through to hold this coalition together because that is what his future as prime minister
really depends on. Anna Foster in Jerusalem speaking there to Peter Goffin. Since Russia's
full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year fears that Moscow might use a nuclear weapon have risen
on Saturday those fears were heightened by President Putin's announcement that Russia was
planning to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. That's provoked strong condemnation by
NATO allies of what they call the Kremlin's dangerous and irresponsible nuclear rhetoric.
They reject Mr Putin's claim that what he's planning is no different to the U.S. basing
some of its nuclear weapons in European countries. Ukraine said the move would make Belarus a nuclear
hostage. Yuri Sak is an advisor to Ukraine's Ministry of Defence. We have been living with the
hypothetical threat of the possible nuclear strike you know from day one of the large-scale
invasion and we have seen how Russia is employing these tactics of nuclear blackmail you know around
the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant in particular now this so nobody can rule out everything okay we
don't have a crystal ball. Our correspondent in Kiev Hugo Bysheger told us more about the
reaction to President Putin's latest announcement. I think what we've seen since the start of the
invasion is that President Putin senior Russian officials have frequently talked about nuclear
weapons and have even raised the possibility of nuclear weapons being used in this conflict
and they know that every time they do it those remarks spark concern in some countries reaction
from some countries and this is exactly what we're seeing here today so NATO has reacted
saying that this Russian rhetoric was irresponsible it said it was following the situation but that
he hadn't seen any changes in Russia's nuclear posture. There's been some reaction here in Kiev as
well the foreign ministry said Russia was using nuclear weapons as a tool of threats and intimidation
and called for an emergency session of the UN Security Council and there's been also some
reaction from Washington the US obviously being the key ally of the Ukrainians in this war and
I think perhaps there was an attempt to downplay concerns that this could suggest that Russia
could be planning to use tactical nuclear weapons and a senior US official said there were no
signs that Russia was preparing to do so. And Russia is dismissing the concerns of NATO saying
actually what it's proposing to do is is no different from the US basing some of its nuclear
arsenal in the territory of European allies but NATO says that's misleading. Yeah well President
Putin is saying that there's nothing unusual in this statement and again he said that the US has
long deployed its own nuclear weapons in European countries and I mean Russia and Belarus have
been talking about the transfer of nuclear weapons for quite some time. President Putin is saying
that this does not violate the nuclear known proliferation deals that Russia has signed but
again the Ukrainians are saying that this is simply not true. We heard from a senior security
official here saying that Moscow has taken Belarus as a nuclear hostage following this
announcement. We don't know when those weapons will be transferred I think it's important to say
the president said that the construction of a facility will be finished by July the first
but he hasn't said when those those weapons will be sent to Belarus. So you've got voices in Ukraine
saying that Belarus is being taken a nuclear hostage. What is Belarus itself saying?
That's very interesting because we haven't heard from the Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko.
He is obviously a key ally of President Putin. Belarus has been used as a base for Russian
forces. Remember back in the early days of the war Russian forces invaded Ukraine from Belarus
and I think what the Ukrainians are saying is that again this decision could destabilize Belarus
and and deprive Belarus of its sovereignty and I think one of the main opposition leaders in
Belarus is saying that well this announcement means that Belarus has become just another
Russian region. Hugo Besheger. Let's stay in Ukraine where for months Russia has thrown its
forces into capturing the city of Bakhmut. Despite thousands of dead on both sides which has left
the city in ruins the Ukrainians are managing to hold on to Bakhmut denying Moscow a much
needed victory even as it runs short of military equipment to maintain the assault.
The International Red Cross estimates that some 2,000 civilians are still in the city despite
the fierce fighting with thousands more living nearby in villages and towns where they've sought
refuge. A Kiri de Praia of the International Red Cross has recently visited the area. We are able to deliver
convoys of humanitarian assistance to localities in the immediate vicinity of Bakhmut. We are
delivering humanitarian aid to Chassiviar that's some 20 kilometers outside of Bakhmut and also
to Konstantinivka which is 40 kilometers outside of Bakhmut. The situation inside the city because
of the hostilities that are going on is just too dangerous it's an active zone of combat therefore
we are not going into the city but we are working closely with the municipalities that are right
outside and we are providing them humanitarian assistance in the form of food or water or
hygiene items for the people that have been displaced from Bakhmut because a lot of the people
from Bakhmut or from localities right outside of it have already evacuated the few thousands that
remain are typically the most vulnerable people including elderly including low mobility people
or people with disabilities so we really have to serve their humanitarian needs where they are.
Many buildings if not all buildings are destroyed civilians that are remaining spend most of their
time in shelter in underground areas because of the intensity of military hostilities going on
and they are lacking basically the essentials we know that the access to drinking water is a
huge issue actually we have brought 6 000 liters of drinking water to a locality right outside Bakhmut
we know that they are lacking also food we know that they are lacking hygiene items so
they're living in very very dire humanitarian conditions and just being even in localities
right outside of it we hear constant explosions exchange of artillery so these are conditions
that are very difficult and a resident of a locality right outside of Bakhmut who I spoke to
told me we are not living here in these conditions we're just surviving.
A kitty de près of the Red Cross. Rescue workers in the United States are continuing
their search for survivors after a devastating tornado in Mississippi killed more than 25 people
and left dozens more injured. The storm carved a path of destruction through the Mississippi Delta
one of the poorest regions of the U.S. flattening not just houses but whole neighborhoods. The
governor of Mississippi Tate Reeves paid tribute to those involved in the aid effort. What we've
seen over the last 36 hours in Mississippi on the one hand has been heartbreaking to see the
loss and devastation of these communities and on the other hand has been inspiring and gives me
great reason for optimism and quite frankly makes me damn proud to be a Mississippian because
Mississippians have done what Mississippians do in times of tragedy in times of crisis they stand up
and they show up. Sophie Long sent this report from one of the hardest hit areas the town of
Rolling Fork in the Mississippi Delta. We got a new scan coming in here as we speak oh man
like north side of Amory this is coming in dear Jesus please help them amen.
That was a television weather forecaster in the moments before the tornado struck
but many didn't get any warning of what was to come. Shantaya Howard was in one of the few houses
that's damaged but still standing. It was just a regular Friday night you know friends at the
house you know over we playing with the kids and the lights flickered out and everyone is in separate
rooms and when the wind had came through and actually pulled down the roof and pulled down
the insulation and broke the window the only thing we could do was just run for cover in the
bathroom so we were basically holding each other and praying for everyone's safety. There are so
many homes here in Rolling Fork that have been completely leveled to the ground you can see
washing machines that have been tossed from one property to another there are cars that started
off on one side of the street here and they're hundreds of meters away now. Francisco McKnight
told me the only warning he had was the terrifying sound of the wind it's a noise he says will haunt
him forever. You were in the front room. This is the front door right there yeah I was on the couch
first. And then you heard the sound coming. I went to the door and peed at the door and
seen how the street was blowing and ran the bathroom close to the door and jumping into it.
So you were in that bathtub? Yep. And that's basically the only part of your house that could
have protected you. Yep yep and that part right there so it's like it's like a blessing.
But I made it through there but it was scary. There is some long-term resentment here. Mississippi
is the poorest state in America and some feel forgotten by leaders in the nation's capital.
Here's Chantere again. Excuse my language. Damn you forgot about us. Just because we are the last
in everything you forgot about us that's not right. That is very heart wrenching other than we
lost everything and we feel that we don't have support from the superior people also. President
Biden has described what's happened here as heartbreaking and said he and the first lady
are praying for those who've lost loved ones. But people here are asking for more than prayers
and emergency relief. They want long term support. So be long. Still to come. Quickly words spread
around about these dumplings and the business just took off from there. The rags to riches
life story of the man who founded a dumpling empire. Inspiring the next generation of dreamers
and doers. I've never been the one to overthink things. It was only after my first day at work
where I realized I'm working in a field where it's normal to be the only woman in the office.
Welcome back to the global news podcast. Recent days have seen a string of shipwrecks as people try
to get to Italy from Tunisia. In the latest fatal crossings at least 29 people drowned after at
least two boats sank within hours of each other. Many of those who've died are sub-Saharan Africans
who've been desperately trying to leave Tunisia after the president, Caius Said, whipped up racist
anger against them by accusing them of causing a crime wave. Journalist Alicia Volkman is in the
Tunisian capital Tunis. There's a very established trafficking route. It's highly exploitative.
People save up thousands of denials to cross. A lot of the people who were evicted in the recent
racial violence, they reported that as well as being evicted they had their savings taken away
from them. So they had been working clandestinely to earn the money to pay for the crossing.
And particularly now in the spring weather with the gales and the choppy sea, it's a very dangerous
time to cross. But people are doing it because they no longer feel safe in Tunisia, particularly the
sub-Saharan population who suffered from this sort of wave of violence that erupted in late February.
You talk about racial violence. So that does seem to be, does there's some
concerted campaign against sub-Saharan migrants in Tunisia? And is that linked to remarks made
by the president? Very much so. Very much so. I mean, there's a series of events that are such
that it started with the sort of annual mass round-ups by police. They tend to sort of pick on
black people to see if they have what, which is a residency permit. And it's a very negative cycle
because people apply, particularly students, they apply in September for their residency permit.
And the administration doesn't give the permit. So January, February, there are these mass arrests.
And this year, same as last year, there are 300 arrests. And then there was this highly publicised
transcription of a meeting between the president and his security council, where he said that Tunisia
needs urgent measures to push back these hordes of migrants and was accusing them of criminality
and violence, and very much echoing a narrative that's been building over the last year, that's
been pushed by the Nationalist Party. Their agenda is to get rid of black people from Tunisia.
And then what happened was that he also passed a decree law about the issue of the carte-sageur
imposing higher penalties for people who didn't have one, but also cracking down on people who
employed people without carte-sageur in formal employment, like cafes in construction.
Alicia Volkman speaking to Julian Marshall. Lebanon has seen crisis after crisis in recent
years, its economy going into freefall, the pandemic, and the massive Beirut port explosion three years
ago. Now it has a new problem to contend with, two time zones. The government has decided to delay
putting the clocks forward until the end of Ramadan, putting it out of sync with most of Europe
and some parts of the Middle East. It's thought this is to allow Muslims to break their daily
fast earlier, but the move is opposed by Christians and some Muslims who say it goes against the
spirit of Ramadan. Karine Torbe in Beirut told us more. It's a total mess. People are completely
lost to what time to follow, which appointments falls under which time zone or which time reading,
because what we have currently in Lebanon is two different timings for exactly the same
moment, which actually you can imagine creates massive, massive confusion. But it isn't only
both confusion. It would have been manageable if it was just that for the three coming weeks,
because then we'll move back to summertime. It's basically that this has created a whole
kind of sectarian rift and it seems that it was not just ill-prepared and it seems kind of impulsive
and it didn't take into consideration all the consequences to such a decision taken at such
a short notice. It triggered a lot of reactions and these reactions seem to come from Christian
entities. TV stations that have Christian identity and then the head of the Maronite Church, the
biggest church in the country, decided that it will not comply and it's switching to summertime.
So basically at the moment everyone in the country has two different times to observe.
There has been a lot of confusion at the airport and just because the decision was taken just two
days ago, the airport in Beirut sent messages to all the passengers who have any trips for the
next three weeks alerting them to a change of the time. Basically what they're trying to do is to
abide by the Lebanese time when it comes to take off time. Well, I say Lebanese time, I'm not sure
which one I'm referring to. I would say the official Lebanese time. But this is really,
really chaotic. You've got students in different schools starting at different times tomorrow.
You've got workers at the moment all going about whether we should start at eight or nine,
which time are we following? And every single institution in the country is
issuing some sort of clarification about which time zone it is at the moment going by.
Karin Torbe in Beirut. In Colombia, the chief of police has said he and other officers have been
using several unusual techniques, including exorcism, to track down some of the country's
most wanted criminals. General Henry Sanabria, who is a devout Catholic, was speaking in a
newspaper interview. James Reid has more details. General Sanabria is well known in Colombia for
his hardline religious views. But his comments about the use of exorcism by the security forces
have come as a surprise. He said the rituals had been used in operations that led to the
killing of the notorious drug lord Pablo Escobar, as well as top FARC rebel commanders. The general
said exorcism was necessary to overcome the witchcraft he claimed many criminals used to
protect themselves. Asked about the remarks, President Gustavo Petro said General Sanabria's
religious beliefs had to be respected as long as they didn't interfere with his work. But he
would have a word with him. James Reid. The founder of one of the world's biggest dumpling
empires has died. Yang Bingyi opened a small business with his wife in Taiwan, which took off
and expanded into the global franchise Din Tai Fung. Its Hong Kong branch even won a Michelin
star. The dumplings became so famous that Hollywood star Tom Cruise even tried his hand at making
some on a visit to the Taipei branch. Our Asia Pacific editor Michael Bristow told us more
about Yang Bingyi and how his dumplings conquered the world. It's one of these rags to riches stories.
Yang Bingyi was born in Shanxi province, an inland province in China. At a time of civil war
across the country, he ended up leaving China and going to Taiwan in 1948. Just as a civil war
there was at its height and he got a job in a company selling cooking oil. He then started his
own business. When the business started to fail, he then decided with his wife to open a small
restaurant selling what became and what's become the signature dish of his restaurants
called Din Tai Fung, the restaurant's name. These are a little pork dumplings called Shaolong Bao,
exquisite. They're delicious. I've had them myself and quickly word spread around about these
dumplings and the business just took off from there. Now there are 170 branches mostly across
South-East Asia but some as far away as New York and London and Sydney.
You say you've had them yourself. What was so special about them?
These Shaolong Bao, they've got very thin, delicate skin. Now they're folded these skins 18
times. A very precise figure but the restaurant has decided that's the perfect symmetry for these
little buns. They're then steamed in bamboo baskets and they're quite soupy so when you bite into them
all this kind of juice comes spurting out and can be quite hot but they're absolutely delicious.
They do sound quite mouthwatering. I mean he gets a lot of credit for this. How much credit
should go to his wife? Well of course his wife helped with the business and helped run the business
and in fact it's still a family business now because his eldest son has taken over it and his
eldest son really has transformed this restaurant into a global brand and expanded across and into
many different other countries. The restaurant's also famous for its service. People who go and
work there, they're taught how to greet customers, how to smile. There are even reports that the
management tell their workers how to brush their teeth so they present the best smile to their
customers. Michael Bresto and apologies if that report left you feeling hungry.
And that's all from us for now but there will be a new edition of the Global News podcast later.
If you want to comment on this podcast with topics covered you can send us an email.
The address is globalpodcastatbbc.co.uk. You can also find us on Twitter at globalnewspod.
This edition was mixed by Caroline Driscoll, the producer was Eleanor Sly, the editor is Karen
Martin. I'm Jeanette Jalil. Until next time, goodbye. Inspiring the next generation of dreamers and doers,
APX and Portia present Yvonne Liao. I want people to discover their own relationship to nature
because it's a humbling and awe-inspiring place and when we learn to navigate it we'll remember
that we belong here too. The Founders Initiative by APX and Portia.
Machine-generated transcript that may contain inaccuracies.
Yoav Gallant had called for plans to overhaul the judiciary to be scrapped. Also: NATO allies condemn Moscow's plans to station nuclear weapons in Belarus, Lebanon gains an extra time zone, and we look back at the life of the founder of one of the world's biggest dumpling empires.