Global News Podcast: Malawi floods: hundreds dead and thousands homeless

BBC BBC 3/15/23 - Episode Page - 33m - PDF Transcript

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.

Seven years ago, I was filming at East London Mosque. When the story broke, the three school

girls from the area had gone missing. They were heading to Syria to join the Islamic State Group.

Shamima Begum was the only one of the girls to emerge from the ashes of the so-called Caliphate.

I've retraced her steps to investigate the truth of her story.

What do you think people think of you?

I was a danger as a risk.

The Shamima Begum story, series two of I'm Not a Monster.

Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

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

I'm Alex Ritzen and at 14 hours GMT on Wednesday, the 15th of March, these are our main stories.

As we record this podcast, more than 220 people are known to have died in floods and mudslides

caused by tropical storm Freddie in Malawi. A senior Pakistani official says the security

forces in Lahore have suspended efforts to arrest the opposition leader Imran Khan because they're

disrupting a prestigious cricket tournament. Also in this podcast, 45 days in solitary confinement

for a 13-year-old indigenous boy in Australia. And a wall of proof that doesn't exist. The

wolf is so smart he overwins every fence. Some animals just have a right to exist,

not just because we find them useful.

Celebrations and controversy over the success of the reintroduction of wolves to the wild in

Europe. In our earlier podcast, we heard some of the harrowing tales of the impact tropical

storm Freddie has had on the people of Malawi. As we record this podcast, the government says

more than 220 people are known to have died and thousands more have been displaced. I got the

latest from our correspondent Shingai Nioka. Well, some good news after just some harrowing days.

The skies have begun to clear over the commercial capital of Blantyre,

and that allows for the airlift operations to start. They will need to conduct search and

rescue operations, but they'll also be trying to bring relief in terms of supplies to the areas

that have been cut off by road. And we already know a lot of people have died, many, many,

many more displaced, but of those who have survived, obviously things like waterborne

diseases are going to become an increasing risk. And that is the main cause of concern

among the UN agencies, for example, who say that Malawi had already been battling its deadliest

cholera outbreak in years. There was a concern that because of the water and just not not just

the floods, but also just access to clean water, that this might actually exacerbate the situation.

This is widely being seen as a demonstrable effect of climate change, isn't it? Yes. And

one of the effects that people are talking about is the fact that you have what, according to the

record books, is one of the longest lasting cyclones for the last month or so. Cyclone Freddy

has moved from Australia all the way to Malawi and is now heading back to Mozambique.

But that really has been the concern that Southern Africa in particular has borne the brunt

of this climate change, that we're seeing more frequent rains, we're seeing more frequent storms

and that they're getting more and more severe. And these are the countries that are least able

to cope with the impact of these changes. What can countries like Malawi do to improve their

responses for next time if next time is going to be more regular? In Malawi, we're hearing that the

warnings were given out ahead of time to some of the communities in low-lying areas and those that

live beneath the mountains, but that many people didn't listen to those warnings and only tried

to escape when it was too late. The people that are really affected by these cyclones are the

poor people who generally don't have access to quality buildings. And so these are some of the

areas that governments think that they can improve on. Shingai Nyoka. Well, Mozambique has also been

hit by Freddy, but whereas four years ago the death toll there from a similar storm was nearly

500, this time it's been 51. Evidence says the country's humanitarian coordinator,

Merta Kulad, that Mozambique's special programme of investments is working. The country has invested

in quite sophisticated early warning systems. So there are satellite imageries and it's able

to anticipate when a natural disaster is about to hit. So there is time and there is communication

and populations are aware. Shelters are created and buildings are also built in a different way,

so they are more resilient and resists better to heavy winds and rains. Now, of course,

this is a very long-term process and this is a very costly process. So results are parallel

yet, but we start to see the results of these investments because 51 people have lost their

lives compared to nearly 500 people four years ago. Merta Kulad in Mozambique.

Cricket is a way of life in Pakistan and if Punjab's information minister is to be believed,

this has put a stop to the operation to arrest the former Prime Minister Imran Khan

at his home in the Hawa. Amir Mir has told the BBC that this has now been suspended until

after the 19th of March, the final of Pakistan's Super League cricket tournament.

Yesterday and today the security forces surrounded Mr Khan's home using tear gas and water cannon

against supporters of his PTI party. Today he spoke to them from inside his house.

They fired bullets at us. Those who fired the bullets were not here to put me in front of a

court. They have also tried to kill me before. Their aim was not to put me before a court.

More than that, they want to exclude me from politics. That's the reason they came to arrest me.

A local official has denied that live rounds were fired. The security forces wanted to arrest

Mr Khan for not turning up at court to defend charges that he unlawfully sold state gifts.

He says the case is politically motivated. We got more on Imran Khan's position from the

barrister Hassan Niazi, a legal representative and advisor to Mr Khan. A few months ago,

when he was attacked in one of the rallies, when he was shot four times, he nearly escaped

a murder attempt. The people, the supporters, they don't trust the law enforcement agencies

anymore, especially the police. Hence, our only concern was that the summon of the court for arrest

of Chairman Imran Khan could result in another attempt to murder and that could leave us as a

leaderless society. Okay, you've said that he's willing to appear before the court. So why doesn't

he comply with the court order and go with the police officers who have been sent by the court

to take him to court? There have been 77 cases and every case Mr Khan has paid in the court

has surrendered himself for the investigation and to the court. The reason he is avoiding it is

because our petition is in the higher court regarding the security. This very court is the

same court where in a few years ago there was a terrorist attack and a judge was killed and a lot

of lawyers were killed and we have a fear it's a complete security risk. The whole place is so

congested with a lot of high rise. So all we are asking is that either move the court to some other

courts which are located in the higher court maybe or the special courts which are like two

kilometers away from that. Right, so I mean ordinary Pakistanis don't get to choose which court

they're tried in do they? Why should he? Why should he get special treatment? We have seen photos of

several people who are clearly struggling to cope with the effects of tear gas and some of them

appear to have blood on them. These are supporters of his party. Isn't the responsible thing for

him to say look this is getting out of hand you should go home to keep yourselves safe there will

be no more clashes. I don't want to see this outside my home. Absolutely that's the best route.

But he's saying people would come on the street he isn't saying people should go away from one

side because he's fighting for these very people he's not fighting for himself. Today a lot of

supporters were shot with live ammunition and the bullets of SMG and 9MM were found the shells were

found and we've given them to the media and I've even posted a video myself of making video of

the police officer shooting the live bullets at us. So what do you think the police is coming to do

to arrest him or to kill him? Who decides this? Why should we believe what the police is saying?

Hassan Niyazi talking to Rob Young. I spoke to our South Asia regional editor and Barassan

Etibrajian. Is cricket really the reason that the authorities are pulling back on arresting Imran Khan?

Ostensibly because the government wants way out of this crisis because for the past 24 hours

security forces including the paramilitary rangers they unsuccessfully tried to arrest Imran Khan

the former prime minister of Pakistan because of a court order the court order was issued the warrant

was issued because he didn't turn up for court hearings to face charges that he incorrectly

declared about the state gifts he received from foreign dignitaries while in office. So now the

government has come out with a reason saying that because of this cricket tournament we are now

postponing this operation. Imagine you know hundreds of police officers they have been brought from

Islamabad from different parts of Punjab province for this operation so they all have to go back

and now the government says that they will stop the operation until the 19th of March when the

final is played of the Pakistan super league and in the meantime the law who I court has

ordered the government not to proceed with any operation at least until tomorrow morning 10 a.m

Pakistan local time probably the government was aware of Imran Khan supporters going to the court

so they preempted by announcing the postponement of operation because of cricket. Imran Khan of

course insists all this is politically motivated who can we believe? Well Imran Khan remains hugely

popular in Pakistan and he won his party won a series of by-elections in the past a few months

putting a lot of pressure on the governing coalition and he says that dozens of cases

have been filed against him since he lost power he was ousted from power in a no confidence vote

in parliament in April last year so he was he was arguing that he was unfairly treated and he was

unfairly ejected from power and that's why he had been organizing these huge rallies all across

Pakistan you know for several months now putting pressure on the government and now he argues that

many of these cases were fabricated politically motivated even though you know the courts are

still going ahead with the cases he seems to be having this popularity and people his supporters

at least believe in what he says. Can he come back from all of this? At the moment Imran Khan

seems to be a bit isolated because he has cut off his links burnt bridges with the military powerful

military and also is very antagonistic relationship with the governing coalition but what he believes

is the people's support and that is what can bring him back to power if the elections are held

and also if he's allowed to contest. Anbarasan Eta Rajan across large parts of Europe the number

of wolves is increasing these animals once widely hunted are returning to lands they

haven't lived in for more than a century two packs have settled in Belgium but these predators don't

always get a warm welcome as our correspondent Jessica Parker reports from Limburg in the east

of the country. That sound you can hear is a wolf sniffing a camera on a stretch of

heat land planted to track Belgium's emerging wolf population. So have you ever seen a wolf here?

Yeah quite often actually. In the province of Limburg I go out to try and find signs of the

wolf with Jan Huy from the Research Institute for Nature and Forest he knows what to look for.

So this is wolf feces? This is wolf feces. What remains after the rain is just some hairs of the

prey. Why are their numbers growing in Europe and why are they back in Belgium for the first time

in over a hundred years? The reason why they're back is mainly legal protection because in Europe

it started with the Bern Convention in 1970 and later on in 92 there was the Habitats Directive

which obliged all member states to consider the wolf as a protective species. From the early 90s

really a lot has happened in Europe and the wolves really started to disperse all over the continent.

What does the wolf eat? Deer, wild boar but livestock also makes up around 15% of its

diet here according to analysis. Local farmer Johann Scheuterdun tells me he's lost dozens of sheep

and current compensation doesn't cover the true cost. We're in a huge barn here. Johann how many

sheep do you actually have in here at the moment? For the moment I think 800. Out in the fields where

Johann's sheep graze he shows me the fencing he's built. We have a guardian dog to protect our sheep

against the wolf but still we have some attacks. Some people might say you just need to build

a better fence. Yes what if you do no more we can use more wires your more sticks but I don't think

that a wolf proof fence doesn't exist. The wolf is so smart he overwins every fence.

Johann calls his sheep. Farmer's distress has led EU lawmakers to call for a downgrade in the

wolf's protected status. A controversial cull was recently carried out in Sweden. Here we have

another wolf print. Back out on the trail with researcher Johann he says people must again learn

to live alongside the wolf. Why is it positive that they're back? Well first of all of course you

need to maybe also ask if everything has to have a positive effect on the way we see it as humans.

Some animals also just have a right to exist not just because we find them useful.

In some marshland a camera picks up a wolf having a drink and then a bathe.

Local legend says that the last wolf here was shot by Belgium's king in the 1890s now

they're back and while evasive in this densely populated region their presence is getting noticed.

That report from Jessica Parker. Still to come. The unprocessed coca leaf isn't illegal

in Bolivia. When it's processed it's the raw material of cocaine that is when that shifts

into being a drug anicotic. Bolivia and Colombia urged the UN to remove the coca leaf from its

list of banned drugs. The United States has said it will continue surveillance flights near the

war zone in Ukraine despite the loss of a drone that crashed into the Black Sea after being

intercepted by Russian fighter jets. Moscow has denied that Russian jets forced it down after

colliding with its propeller. Exactly what type of flying robot then was this drone?

David Hambling is the author of the book Swarm Troopers How Small Drones Will Conquer the World.

This is an MQ-9 Reaper which is the mainstay of the American Drone Reconnaissance Force.

While they can be armed this one would almost certainly have been carrying out a intelligence

gathering mission outside the borders of Ukrainian airspace keeping an eye on what was happening

inside Ukraine probably using radar or electronic sensors.

How easy would it have been to take it down? I mean is this likely to have been

an accident or something done deliberately? They didn't deliberately bring it down but

they were deliberately harassing it. It's a very unequal contest with a manned aircraft against

a drone like this because the drone pilot has no situational awareness they can't see what's

happening around them. One pilot is compared to the view you get to seeing through a drinking straw

and the cruising speed is something like 200 miles an hour so the Russian jets could literally fly

circles around it. Clearly they are trying to harass, they're trying to interfere with its

ability to carry out its mission by flying close to it and forcing the pilot to make evasive maneuvers.

My suspicion is that in doing so they simply flew a bit too close and actually clipped it causing

damage that caused the drone to be lost. It's a costly loss or something like 20 million dollars

is that right? Somewhere upwards of 20 million depending on what additional equipment they have

on it. That's not the most expensive drone the Americans have lost. A few years ago the Iranian

shot down a global hawk drone which should have been somewhere over 200 million. Also these drones

operate in what are known as orbits as soon as one drone goes off station another one takes its

place so they have 24-7 surveillance so there will be another drone in exactly the same place as that

one continuing its mission. Has it happened because Russia just wants to annoy the US or do you think

that they are concerned about the amount the quality of intelligence that the Americans are

getting through these drones? The Americans are getting a vast amount of intelligence and that

is being fed straight back to Ukraine. According to some reports every single time the Ukrainians

use the Haimars missile system the targets for that are located and confirmed using intelligence

supplied by the US so this is probably carrying quite militarily important information. Do the

Russians use similar technology? The Russians have much less emphasis on their drone fleet

partly for historical reasons. They do have a similar drone called Orion though it's hardly

been seen in this conflict. They don't really have the the same type of capabilities on the same

scale and at any rate obviously they operate within Ukrainian and Russian airspace so they

don't have to do their reconnaissance from a distance. David Hambling speaking to James Kopnell.

To Australia now and the story of a 13-year-old Indigenous boy who was held in solitary confinement

for 45 days while awaiting trial for minor offenses. The teenager's treatment at the Cleveland

Youth Detention Center in Townsville is the latest case to raise human rights concerns

about the youth justice system in the state of Queensland. Our correspondent in Sydney,

Phil Mercer told us more. He's been referred to as Jack. He was released on probation last week after

more than two months in custody being held on remand on charges relating to a fight with another

boy. His lawyer said that this boy Jack had no serious criminal history describing his incarceration

as extraordinary and cruel and his mother said that he went in to prison as a bright talkative

teenager and came out very withdrawn and very stressed. Presumably this is a very unusual

kind of thing is it? We'd like to think so but according to campaigners in Queensland it has

happened before. In February of this year it emerged that another 13-year-old boy in the

state of Queensland with learning difficulties this time spent 78 days in a cell for 20 hours a day.

This is clearly raising concerns over Queensland's youth justice system and the authorities in

Queensland say that solitary confinement is only used as a last resort and lawyers say that

perhaps solitary confinement is being used because of a lack of staff in these facilities but

quite clearly it is shining a light on the way that young people, children, are treated in that

part of the country. And the law around children being locked up is being looked at as we speak

but I'm told things could get worse for them. Well the Queensland government is considering

new legislation that could well criminalise bail breaches by children that is minors breaching

the rules of their release after being accused of crimes. Now campaigners believe this could cause

the youth prison population to rise even higher than it is at the moment. If you look at the

statistic first nations Australians are up to 12 times more likely to be in jail than non-indigenous

people in the state of Queensland. Rates of juvenile incarceration are also very high it's

estimated that 70% of child inmates in Queensland are indigenous and unfortunately these recent

cases of two 13-year-old boys held for such a long time on their own is raising serious concerns

again. Phil Mercer in Sydney. Leonardo da Vinci is arguably the most famous artist of all time but

little is known about his personal life. New research suggests da Vinci was only half Italian

because his mother was a slave from the Caucasus Anna Aslam reports. It was long thought that

Leonardo da Vinci's mother was a Tuscan peasant but an expert who studied the artist for over a

decade Karlovece said the truth is more complicated. Using archaeological research and extensive

documentation he claims da Vinci's mother Catarina was a princess in the northern Caucasus mountains

but was kidnapped and sold into slavery making her way across the Black Sea to Constantinople

and Venice before arriving in Florence. There she worked as a nurse for a wealthy family and had a

child out of wedlock with a notary Piero da Vinci. An archive document written in Piero's handwriting

declares Catarina's liberation from slavery in November 1452 six months after Leonardo's birth.

Catarina's mysterious past has been the topic of debate among researchers for decades and some

other experts have agreed with Karlovece's account. Mr. Veche says Catarina's difficult life had a

profound impact on Leonardo da Vinci. He points to overarching themes of freedom in his work and

says da Vinci's universal appeal could come from the artist not belonging to a single class, culture

or country. Anna Aslam. Coca-leaf is part of everyday life in Bolivia but the country is banned

from exporting it because it's used as the raw material to make cocaine. For indigenous people

in the Andes it's a traditional medicine. Bolivia together with Colombia once the ban lifted.

They're urging the United Nations to remove the Coca-leaf from its list of prohibited narcotics.

Its data will now be reviewed by a committee of international experts. For more I spoke to our

reporter Mimi Swaybe. Coca-leaf is actually a plant and it's been used by indigenous communities

across Bolivia and Colombia in the Andean regions as traditional medicine as well as for social

interactions and involved in religious ceremonies. It's widely grown in usually medium altitude parts

of the Andes since probably about the Incas or even before primarily in Las Yungas in the north

and the east of the capital, La Paz. And when it's dried, when the leaves are dried, you can make tea

with it, you can chew it, you can grind into powder. There's lots of different forms you can do.

Usually you'll see people walking down the street in Bolivia with a wad of chewed up Coca-leafs in

the pout to their cheek and that really isn't uncommon. I remember the first time I arrived there,

the first thing I was offered was a plastic sack full of leaves and a Coca-leaf tea to ease the

altitude sickness. You've got to remember La Paz, the capital, is extremely high up. It's the highest

city in the world. It's 3,650 meters above sea level. So altitude really does hit you and you

can feel nausea, you can have a headache and that is one of the benefits of Coca. It's used,

like I said, as medicine, but really to help alleviate altitude sickness.

And it's not illegal, but it is a drug and it does have effects on you.

So that's the differentiation. The unprocessed Coca-leaf isn't illegal in Bolivia. When it's

processed, it's the raw material of cocaine. That is when that shifts into being a drug

and a narcotic and that is illegal. So another reason people chew Coca is to give them energy.

So people who are doing laborious work tend to have always have a pout of Coca in their cheek

and that is thought to keep them running through the day.

So why is this important to Bolivia and Colombia to get this ban lifted? And how did it come to

be banned in the first place? It's always been banned since it is recognised as an narcotic

internationally, but that is the argument the vice president is putting forward. He's saying,

actually, this is a cultural heritage. We need to decolonize this sacred leaf and correct this

criminalization of a really historic part, a cultural part of Bolivian and Colombian society,

which is so normalized. People don't see it as a harmful thing. They see it as so integral to

society and daily life, really. And this is one of the arguments that the vice president is also

putting forward that actually it needs to be decriminalized so they can export it and show

the benefits of Coca-leaf and rather than the international community seeing it as

the main ingredient for a drug. Mimi Swaybi. Music has been banned in Afghanistan since

the Taliban took power in August 2021, but the country's national orchestra is desperately

trying to keep Afghan melodies alive. An exiled group of musicians is going on a European tour.

Our reporter Shakiba Habib met them at their first concert in Paris.

Shabana is a star player, standing tall using an app on a smartphone to tune her stringed instrument.

But the sounds from the strings bring back some sad memories.

Music plays a very important role in my life. When I play, I think about the feelings of people.

I think about men and women that the Taliban banned from playing music.

Shabana and her friends are some of the youngest musicians of Afghanistan. 13-year-old Sabria

plays piano and harmonium. When the Taliban came, I was sad because I wasn't able to continue

studying. Most of the students said they couldn't believe they would lose everything they had overnight,

a modest 15, and play tabla. For now, music has been silenced in Afghanistan.

They broke the thing I love the most.

Back in Afghanistan, they had freedom to perform in public.

They had status as professionals. But when the Taliban returned, everything regressed.

After breaking all the instruments, the Taliban locked the doors to their music school.

Music plays

But the school students are far from defeated.

Back home, they performed in colorful dresses. But today, they are in plain dark clothes.

Most of them couldn't bring their belongings as they were forced to flee Afghanistan.

The students are now settled in Portugal as refugees, where they revived their music school.

Masuda is 15. We won't let their actions go unnoticed. We will play our music even louder.

Tonight is their first concert of the tour, and it's a sellout show.

I spoke to Hadya as she picked up her stature to go to the stage.

How do you feel before going to the stage? Excited.

Which piece do you like the most?

Sarzaminiman. The one that's about Afghanistan.

A packed theater hall greets them. Their selection of melodies

brought tears to some members of the audience.

And they end their performance with the patriotic masterpiece of

Sarzaminiman or my homeland, Emod and Sabria.

The Taliban want young girls and boys to be just like them,

uneducated, without progress and without a future.

When the Taliban are gone, I'll go to Afghanistan to teach music to girls and boys.

In Afghanistan, the Taliban have shown no intention of lifting the ban on music.

But for now, these students have the world stage

and audience to hear their message.

Shakiba Habib.

And that's all from us for now.

But there'll be a new edition of the Global News podcast later.

If you want to comment on this podcast or the topics covered in it,

you can send us an email.

The address is globalpodcast at bbc.co.uk.

You can also find us on Twitter at Global News Pod.

This edition was mixed by Lewis Alsop and the producer was Alison Davis.

The editor is Karen Martin.

I'm Alex Ritzen. Until next time, goodbye.

Seven years ago, I was filming at East London Mosque

when the story broke the three schoolgirls from the area had gone missing.

They were heading to Syria to join the Islamic State group.

Shamima Begum was the only one of the girls to emerge

from the ashes of the so-called Caliphate.

I've retraced her steps to investigate the truth of her story.

What do you think people think of you?

I was a danger as a risk.

The Shamima Begum Story series two of I'm Not a Monster.

Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

Machine-generated transcript that may contain inaccuracies.

The commercial capital, Blantyre, is worst-affected, with many having died in landslides. Also: the Pakistani authorities say they have suspended efforts to arrest the opposition leader, Imran Khan, because they're disrupting a prestigious cricket tournament, and celebrations - and controversy - over the re-introduction of wolves to Europe.