Global News Podcast: Suicide bombers attack mosques in different parts of Pakistan

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

I'm Robin Brant and at 13 hours GMT on Friday the 29th of September. These are our main stories.

Two large explosions in different parts of Pakistan have caused multiple casualties.

The UN says there's been a 60% increase in the number of unaccompanied child migrants

making the dangerous sea crossing to Europe. And the leader of Spain's Conservative People's

Party has failed to form a government again. Also in this podcast, aid officials have warned

that the entire population of Nagorno-Karabakh might leave after Azerbaijan seized control.

What else could we do? And scientists in Spain say a pair of shoes

discovered in a cave are 6,000 years old.

We begin in Pakistan, though, where there have been two deadly explosions in separate areas

on the day people gathered for prayers and to commemorate the birth of the Prophet Muhammad.

At least 50 people were killed, including a senior police officer in Balochistan,

in the southwest of the country, in what is believed to be a suicide attack.

Later, a blast at a mosque in a northern province of the country caused the collapse of parts of

the building, killing at least four people. Dozens are still reported to be trapped.

Our correspondent Sahir Bulloch is following developments from Islamabad and gave me the latest.

The police chief in Balochistan has said that this was a suicide attack and at the same time

Pakistani Taliban have also issued a statement saying that they have nothing to do with both

these incidents, whether it was in Balochistan or in Kheber Pakhtunfa province of Pakistan.

And they have said that they condemn any attack on these places as well and also reiterated their

earlier claim that they do not target worship places or schools. So this is quite interesting

at a time when the police are suspecting Pakistani Taliban to be behind these attacks.

But at the same time, it also begs for a bigger question than who was behind this attack. And

secondly, what was their motivation? Is there any sense, any evidence, any

informed speculation at this stage that they may have been coordinated attacks?

No, so far there is no claim on that and the police is also not revealing a lot at the moment.

The police basically was suspecting the Pakistani Taliban because in an earlier attack in Masthoon

as well, which is in Balochistan, a political party was targeted at that point of time and that

attack was claimed by the Islamic State over there as well. Also Masthoon is placed in a place

which is very closer to the Afghanistan border. So people had been claiming for a while and they

had been sort of giving these statements to the police also in Balochistan and in Kheber Pakhtunfa

that the Taliban have been infiltrating their areas and something should be done about it.

And these things were happening like in past two years, but nothing was done. And now we are seeing

like what is happening in the province. So extremism is still like a bigger issue in Pakistan.

And can I just ask quickly about the significance of today? It's Friday,

prayers day, but it's also the day in which some celebrate the birthday of

the Prophet Muhammad. Do you see any significance in these attacks happening today in particular?

Yes, actually, it is a big day for Muslims like across Pakistan. So it's Prophet Muhammad's

birthday, basically, birthday anniversary and a lot of people celebrate that with a lot of

reverence and a lot of love. And this attack in Masthoon was also part of that because there

was a congregation that was about to go ahead and they were like, you know, celebrating and they

were holding flags and everything. And they were people like it was not like part of a political

party's, you know, procession or anything. It was like normal people going out about their

business and they were attacked. So this is actually like, you know, a big, big thing for,

you know, people in Pakistan right now. At the same time, you know, every Friday for past 10

years, this was a norm like every Friday and especially on Thursday as well, they used to

be blast that used to happen. But now it has stopped. And now once again, people are reminded

of that bloody decade as well. Let's go to Europe now, where there has been a big jump in the number

of unaccompanied children trying to reach the continent by crossing the Mediterranean in boats,

as leaders from nine European countries meet in Malta to discuss the growing number of migrants

trying to make the journey from Africa. The UN's Children's Agency says there's been a 60% rise in

the last year, and many don't survive the journey. At a news conference in Geneva, Regina de Domenici,

UNICEF's regional director for Europe and Central Asia, said more children were dying as a result

of political choices and a defective migration system. This summer, we saw a tripling number

of children and adults dying on the central Mediterranean sea migration route compared to

the last summer. The Mediterranean has become a cemetery for children and for their future.

Policies today prevent an effective and coordinated search and rescue at sea.

Well, I got more on this from our correspondent in Geneva, Imogen Folks.

What UNICEF is saying is that between January and now, September of this year, 11,600 children,

that they classify that as young people under the age of 18, legally miners, unaccompanied

miners, crossed the Mediterranean in these very risky boats. And that between June and

August of this year, they recorded more than 900 deaths, that's of all people, adults as well as

children. But that is also a shocking figure. That's three times as many as the same period

last year. And one of the things that I think UNICEF in its statement today is particularly

concerned about is that the kind of conditions if they survive the journey that they arrive in

in Europe are really not fit for children. And that Europe, arguing in Brussels about funding

for search and rescue boats and so on, is just not looking at properly at how they should be

protecting children and their rights and their safety if they do arrive in Europe.

And can I just ask, in this report from the UN Children's Agency, is there any sense of why

they think there's been such a sharp increase in the number of unaccompanied children in particular,

or does that mirror the broader trend of an increase in numbers of everyone trying to come?

I think to a certain extent it mirrors the broader trend of more people trying to come. I mean,

I'm looking at UNICEF's statement now, very starkly, war, conflict, violence and poverty

are the main drivers for children fleeing their home countries. I mean, as we know,

sometimes it's acute poverty which may not really be seen as a reason to seek asylum in Europe, but

a family will save up and send a young person under the age of 18 to Europe in the hope of

them achieving a better life. Unfortunately, what UNICEF's saying is that over 20,000 in Italy alone

children are being held in closed detention centres, so nothing like a better life.

Imogen Folks reporting. The United Nations Refugee Agency has warned that the entire population

of Nagorno-Karabakh may flee in the wake of Azerbaijan's takeover. More than 90,000 have

left already, about three-quarters of those who lived in the disputed territory until last week.

A UN spokeswoman said they were arriving in neighbouring Armenia scared, frightened and full

of anxiety. About a third of the refugees are children many have been separated from their

families. Sarah Reinsford sent this report from the town of Gorish on the Armenian border.

The children of Nagorno-Karabakh have known two wars in their short lives. Now they've fled

as refugees. The land they grew up on has been disputed for decades, but for them it was just

home. Their father Gavorg fought for Karabakh in 2020 and again last week, so I ask how he feels

about leaving, about surrender. Very bad. Terribly bad.

What else could we do? I don't know. I'm too upset. I can't answer these questions.

The Armenian border town of Gorish has taken in so many refugees, some are sleeping in their cars,

vehicles that now carry a life's worth of possessions.

The exodus happened so quickly, many here still seem stunned.

There is a giant scramble to help the tens of thousands in need, including the most vulnerable.

Donations are flooding in, scooped up by exhausted families who've often travelled for days to reach here.

Sofia and Angelina are still recovering from their trip and from a day under fire in their

village, right on the front line. Mariam's husband was hit by shrapnel then, but he didn't want to

be filmed. The family are being hosted by a woman who fled Nagorno-Karabakh in the last war.

Now she's helping a new wave of refugees. Today, they all saw the official decree

that their separatist republic, which they call Artsakh, was being dissolved.

Thirty years building our lives there, then they say there's no Artsakh anymore.

That is a tragedy for the Armenian people. But we have no strength left to fight,

but we have no strength left to fight, because we were left alone. We were abandoned.

Nagorno-Karabakh is rapidly emptying out. But as they go, the ethnic Armenians are not

only leaving their homes and their property, they're also surrendering their long dream of independence.

Now, Sweden's Prime Minister has used a televised national address to say he's considering

deploying military patrols on the streets of the country's capital to deal with heightened gun

violence. Eleven people have died in gang violence this month alone. Prime Minister Ulf Kristensson

is holding talks with the head of the police and the armed forces. So how serious is this for Sweden?

Well, I asked Maddie Savage, a journalist in Stockholm.

It's a really serious situation, and the level of conversation around this is

bigger than there has been in years here in Sweden. The Prime Minister has begun talks

with the Supreme Commander of the Swedish Armed Forces. We understand that they're taking place,

and they're due to report back in about 40 minutes. And this after this rare televised address, which

I think shows the scale of this problem on Thursday night, when the Prime Minister said he wanted

the Swedish military to help to tackle a wave of gang-related violence. And we understand

they're looking into ways in which that could work. Earlier on, there was another news conference

from the National Police Commissioner of Sweden Anders Thornberg. And he said that the police

could get involved in cooperating with the military, for instance, by the military,

helping with transport, logistics and guarding duties in order to free up the police resources

to focus more on gang crime and tackling this wave and shootings.

OK, can I ask for a bit more context in why the gun violence in particular has become

so bad? And is there agreement on politicians and other figures in society about what's caused

this? I think there's an agreement across the board now that this is a huge problem that needs

to be tackled. But exactly what the root causes are do differ depending on who you speak to.

One particular issue that's come up recently has been the fact that young children from

impoverished areas are increasingly being recruited on social media. They're being lured in by videos

about getting new trainers and fancy gadgets. And there's a lot of talk that older gang members

are basically recruiting these youngsters because they won't face such tough prison sentences.

And so the fact that this trend is moving towards children is something that I think has

caused the problem to escalate. Those on the right argue that a lot of these crimes have been

taking place in vulnerable areas with high immigrant populations and they're blaming it on a clash

of cultures. But if you speak to others on the left, they say it's issues to do with integration,

high levels of poverty and unemployment and that more needs to be done to tackle the root cause

rather than simply going out there with the military and potentially with tougher punishments.

They're looking for more social measures alongside this.

Maddie Savage talking to me from Stockholm. Nearly 40 years after his death, a previously

unknown work by the acclaimed American writer Truman Capote has been brought to light thanks

to some literary sleuthing by the editor of The Strand Magazine. Andrew Shelley discovered the

story written in a notebook. It was then carefully deciphered and transcribed. In his day, Capote was

regarded as one of America's most compelling observers of humanity. He's best known for the

true crime novel In Cold Blood and the novella Breakfast at Tiffany's. Here's an excerpt from

the new story, Another Day in Paradise. It was so humiliating that Carlo should have turned out not

to be a friend. She had trusted him to the extent of her capital. Let him sell her the land,

allowed him to build the villa, supply at pirate prices the native paraphernalia that furnished it.

He was an emotional crook. And beyond that, a common gangster who'd pocketed at least half the

money supposedly spent on Belfi's day. All this she could forgive him. Good, but didn't.

Well, The Strand editor, Mr. Shelley, has been talking about how it came to be published.

The story is a day in the life of a character, and it's a character who's rather been betrayed and is

suffering from a very, very bad day. And he's living in this wonderful sun-swept town in Southern

Italy. But he hates everything around her. And he comes across another person who, in contrast to her,

has lost a lot, has had many tragic things happen to her. But unlike the main character, Iris Green

she's trying to have a better outlook of life, trying to form a human connection.

You have an interesting plot twist and add a little Ginzano wine, and you have a wonderful

little story by Truman Capote. So the interesting thing is why was this not published? And I'm

afraid I don't have a good answer about that. When I was doing some research in the indexes of the

Library of Congress, during that time, you know, I just said, you know, I might as well like look

in the indexes of Truman Capote. And to my surprise, this story turned up. It was in a red notebook,

and it was written in pencil, and it had handwriting that at times is very difficult to decipher.

And there was a mark on the notebook that the notebook was bought at a very old

stationer in Venice in St. Mark's Square. In 1950, Truman Capote visited Italy. He stayed

there for a long time, and he rented a house, and he wrote an essay about the house that he had

rented and the people and the characters surrounding that area. And it was called Fontana Vecchia.

And that house was the basis for the house in this story, another day in Paradise.

Andrew Shelley on a newly discovered Capote story. Still to come on the Global News Podcast.

Over the summer, the protests were ferocious. Now that the law is actually there, the rail has

calmed down. We'll have more on the heated debate over Germany's plan to phase out fossil fuel heating.

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The leader of Spain's Conservative People's Party has once again failed to form a ruling coalition

with parliament voting against his proposed government. The People's Party came first

in July's general election, but Alberto Feijo did not attract sufficient support from other parties

to form a majority in the country's parliament. As our correspondent Guy Hedgeko in Madrid told

my colleague Lucy Hawking. He lost a vote earlier this week when he needed an absolute majority.

He fell four votes short. And the same thing has happened again today when he needed a simple

majority. That is, in theory, an easier line to get over, just more yeses than those. But

he simply has not had the support from other parties in parliament that he needed. The only

major party that has backed Mr Núñez Feijo in this vote and in the vote earlier in the week

was the far-right Vox Party. And that meant that many other parties, which might have

considered supporting him, decided not to. And so for the second time this week, Mr Núñez Feijo

has lost an investigative vote. And this one is definitive. We've just seen him leaving Mr Feijo,

the council chamber. He got a rousing round of applause there as he left Guy and all the politicians

are now leaving the chamber at the moment. But what will happen now? We expect King Felipe to

invite Pedro Sánchez, the acting prime minister and leader of the Socialist Party, to try and form

a government. He was runner up in July's general election behind Mr Núñez Feijo. And so in the

coming weeks, Mr Sánchez is expected to be locked in negotiations with other parties in parliament

to try and get their support. Now, he appears to have a slightly better chance of securing a majority

than his conservative rival. However, he will need the support of Catalan nationalists. They,

in exchange, are asking for, for example, an amnesty for all Catalan independence leaders

who are facing legal action. That's a very controversial request that they're making of

Mr Sánchez. So I think we're going to see a lot of scrutiny of those negotiations between Mr Sánchez

and Catalan nationalists in the coming weeks. Of course, if Mr Sánchez fails to form a government

himself, then there will be a repeat election in mid-January. Guy, I was in Spain very briefly

recently and just speaking to people, they're so fed up and frustrated. The idea of another

election, people really just couldn't quite believe it. Can you describe for us the general

public sentiment around political life? You know, we've had five general elections in the last decade.

This could be a sixth one coming up in January. People are exhausted with it. They are fed up.

They're fed up with their politicians. They're fed up with the fact that they can't reach a

consensus and form a majority. There's a very good reason for that. And that's because a number of

new parties have emerged over the last few years on the far left and on the far right, for example,

which, and that has fragmented the political landscape, made it much more difficult for the

two traditional big parties, the socialists and the conservatives, to simply win a majority on

their own. So that explains it. But obviously, people are upset by it and they feel that they're

in a kind of political limbo and people in the economic sphere feel that this is not good for

the economy either. Guy Hedgeko in Madrid. Now, let's stay in Europe where Germany, the continent's

biggest economy, is the latest country to battle with differing opinions over the pace of change

required to hit targets on cutting carbon emissions. With an economic downturn and a

rising cost of living in many countries, a speedy switch to green energy is being questioned by

some. Germany, where the Green Party is part of the government, is aiming to be carbon neutral by

2045. But there's been much debate about a new law to phase out fossil fuels for heating homes,

as Damian McGinnis reports from Berlin. Here in this workshop, apprentices are learning how to

install gas boilers. That's how most German homes are heated. But the humble gas boiler has become

the centre of a huge political row here. Protests, rows in parliament, and some even thought the

government might collapse at one point, never before have heating systems created such a nationwide

drama. And it's all about a new law which phases out fossil fuel boilers and replaces them with

greener options such as heat pumps. You can also learn how to install those here too. Now, showing

me around this workshop is Andreas Koch-Martin, the head of the Berlin Guild for the heating

and plumbing industry that runs this training centre. After this drama, as you called it,

now I would say better this law than no law. Our craftsmen didn't know what can we say to our

customers. Nobody really knew what the direction was. More gas and oil boilers were installed than

heating pumps. So because of the uncertainty around the discussion, people suddenly rushed to install

oil and gas boilers because they were afraid that they'd suddenly be forced to do something they

couldn't afford. And everybody was more or less irritated and confused.

No wonder people got confused. The bill leaked before it was ready and straight away,

tabloid commentators said Germany had become a socialist dictatorship, claiming that gas boilers

would be ripped out of people's homes and pensioners would freeze because they couldn't afford heat

pumps. In fact, the law does not apply to existing heating systems and there's generous state support

for households that go green, but the damage was done and the coalition's ratings have now

dropped to a record low. Green Party MP Ingrid Nestler, who works on the coalition's energy

policy, admits that the government was not prepared with an effective communication strategy to

allay voters' fears. It was a two-heated debate. The debate about heating was too heated. Yes,

exactly, exactly. The heating really heated the debate and it has left some marks on the

discussion culture, which I wish we would have found another way to discuss it.

Earlier this month, the law was finally passed in parliament,

but environmentalists say that because of the uproar, the final version was watered down.

So fossil fuel heating will be phased out later than originally planned.

Claudia Kemfert, an economist who specialises in energy, says this is a trend we're seeing in

many countries. It's always the same debate, it seems. As soon as you come to real climate

protection, to concrete action and what we need to do right now, then there is a danger to water it

down and fossil lobby comes in, opponents come in and we might see it in other countries as well.

Over summer, the protests were ferocious. 13,000 people came to this demo in Bavaria

to listen to their regional leaders rail against Berlin's ban on boilers.

Now that the law is actually there, the rail has calmed down, but Germany's summer

head up over heating does show one thing. Voters may say in polls they want more action to fight

climate change, but as soon as that costs them money, governments better be ready to argue the case.

Now we do elections a lot on the BBC, not many though in countries that have an absolute monarchy

and in Eswatini they really do have an absolute monarchy. King Maswati III rules as Africa's

last remaining monarch of this kind. Human rights campaigners have dismissed a current

parliamentary election in the country, formerly known as Swaziland, as a farce. Those elected

only take on an advisory role to the king. Southern Africa correspondent Nomsa Maseko

told me more about it. Political parties were banned back in 1973, which basically means

anyone who, any individual who wants to run for political office, cannot have any political

affiliations. So the more than half a million people who are going to be voting today, I expected

to elect 59 members of the lower house of parliament, which only plays an advisory

role to the king. And Eswatini's electoral system, known as the Tinkundla system,

elects members of both the houses of parliament, while the rest are directly appointed by the king,

meaning the prime minister and the cabinet, are directly appointed by the king, and most of them

are the king's relatives. So does the king Maswati, does he pay much attention to the

elected officials? Not necessarily, because political parties have been banned. So most of

the MPs, even though they are there on their individual capacities to try and represent

their constituencies, most of them are still loyal to the king. So there isn't much that they can do,

you know, despite having essay in, you know, as an, as advisors to the king, people want

change. That is why these elections are seen to be quite important, because they are the first ones

to take place since the 2021 pro-democracy violent protests, which led to the deaths of many people.

So, I mean, following on from that, how stable do you think the king's position is and how secure

is the monarchy, this absolute monarchy in Eswatini? Well, the king still holds all the power

in his country. He's been in power for 37 years, and that does not seem like it is going to change.

There are hopes, though, that if political parties were to be unbanned in Swaziland,

there would be some reforms that would take place. Nomsimuseko reporting. Now, let's end on something

that's probably at the back of your wardrobe, or maybe sitting by your front door, a pair of

shoes that you just can't let go of. They're old, but you love them. Well, scientists have identified

what they think are the oldest shoes ever found in Europe. A pair of woven sandals that are believed

to be around 6,000 years old were found in a cave in Spain, and they survived because it's so dry.

Here's Wendy Urquhart. The items were first discovered deep inside the cave in the 19th century,

but scientists have only recently realised that they're much older than previously thought.

6,200 years old, to be exact. Some parts of the sandals didn't survive, but the intricately

woven Esparto grass soles are still intact, and because they're small in size, they probably

belong to children and would have been kept on their feet with twisted or braided cords.

But the shoes are not the oldest items that were found. Several Esparto grass baskets were also

discovered, and they date back 9,500 years to the Mesolithic period. Four of them are in very good

condition. Scientists are also examining the mummified bodies, stone stools, ancient boar's teeth,

and other artefacts that were also found in the cave. But it's the prehistoric shoes that are

causing the most excitement. Until now, the oldest shoes found in Europe were made from grass and

leather, and were at around 5,000 years old. They were discovered on the Italy-Austria border

in 1991. So, don't throw your Espadrilles away at the end of the summer. Who knows,

they might last another few thousand years. Right, that's all from us for now, but before we go,

here's Jackie with news of the next edition of the Happy Pod. Yes, in this week's edition,

we'll be getting a sense of the excitement among scientists and space watchers over the

recovery of samples from the asteroid Bennu, and what they might tell us about the formation of our

solar system. Excitement in East Africa too, as the 2027 Cup of Nations is awarded to a joint bid

from Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. We celebrate a teacher in Uruguay who hitchhikes 200km a day

to reach her pupils, both of them, and celebrating words of hope and joy, and just one of flat

chance as well. All in the Happy Pod, available from Saturday, September 30th.

Happy Jackie with the Happy Pod. Well, if you want to comment on this podcast, or the topics

covered in it, you can send us an email, the address is globalpodcastatbbc.co.uk. You can

also find us on X, formerly known as Twitter, at Global News Pod. This edition was produced by

Alice Adderley. It was mixed by Joe McCartney. The editor is Karen Martin. I'm Robin Brandt.

Thanks for listening. Until next time, goodbye.

That's the sound of Paula getting up.

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