Bondi inquiry calls for better policing of Jewish events

0:00This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK.

0:30start planning your next vacation. That's visit usvi.com. USVI, naturally in rhythm. Spring into deals at Lowe's. Shop select 1.5 gallon annuals hanging baskets, two for $15 for the perfect addition to mom's garden. Plus, get three free bags of Miracle-Gro .75 cubic foot garden soil when you buy three. Our best lineup is here at Lowe's. Lowe's, we help, you You save. Valid through 5-6. Excludes Alaska and Hawaii. Visit your nearby Lowe's on South Holland Road in Chicago.

1:08This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Pete Ross and in the early hours of Thursday the 30th of April, these are our main stories. An Australian inquiry has said a Jewish group warned of a terrorist attack before last year's anti-Semitic mass shooting at Bondi Beach and has called for an overhaul of counter-terrorism. The price of oil has briefly risen above$120 over fears that the US-Israeli war with Iran could continue for months. And there are heated exchanges in the US Congress, as it's revealed the war in Iran has cost$25 billion so far. Also in this podcast, the US Justice Department charges a Mexican state governor for alleged links to large-scale drug trafficking by the Sinaloa cartel.

2:01And... It was extremely exciting. I mean, I think everyone who works in this field dreams of finding a new bit of Old English. A rare copy of a 7th-century English poem turns up in a library in Rome.

2:18We start in Australia, where a Royal Commission into Antisemitism Antisemitism has released its first report on the attack last year on Bondi Beach in Sydney. Fifteen people were killed when two gunmen attacked Jews celebrating Hanukkah in December. One of the gunmen, Sajid Akram, was shot dead by police. His son, Naveed, is awaiting trial on terrorism and murder charges. The Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, says major changes have been made since the attack took place. In the wake of the Bondi attack, my government took immediate action to bolster the resources of our security agencies, tackle anti-Semitism, crack down on hate preachers and deliver tougher gun laws.

2:59That's why we brought the Parliament back in January. We weren't able to get the support across the Parliament of everything we wanted to achieve, but we did make substantial progress. Our correspondent Katie Watson has been looking at the Royal Commission's findings. This is an interim report. The final report has to be made by the 14th of December, a year on from the shooting. But the interim report has 14 recommendations, five of which are classified because of sensitive information. But I think the key points are that there's a recommendation that needs to be more policing at high risk Jewish events.

3:39And there's also a recommendation for a review of joint counterterrorism teams across the country. There's a request for an urgent report to be submitted to police commissioners. There's also two recommendations to speed up or certainly prioritise a National Firearms Registry and a gun buyback scheme. These were schemes that were proposed in the wake of the Bondi shooting. but so far several states have been kind of really dragging on this and only I think New South Wales and Canberra have actually passed any legislation so there's been a recommendation that that also needs to be prioritised. An interim report as you say what happens next?

4:18From May the 4th until May the 15th there will be a first series of public hearings so people with first hand experience of anti-semitism are expected to speak and then there will still be a lot of work by Commissioner Virginia Bell. At the moment, this report is preceding any public hearings. So there will be further meetings around table sessions, meetings with other people from organisations. So this is still very much in the throes of working out the detail of that final report that we will get in December. And briefly, Katie, one of the gunmen, Navid Akram, is awaiting trial on terrorism and murder charges.

4:54What can you tell us about that? Yeah, that's right. There's only been some kind of illegal hearings. There was an attempt to suppress the names of members of his family for their security. That was denied. But yeah, he's still awaiting trial for murder and terrorism offences. And his father, Sajid Akram, was shot dead by police at Bondi Beach at the scene. So that's very much also in the process. And that's something that Commissioner Bell said as well, is that it needs to be very carefully dealt with this report, because obviously there is a legal case going on around the attack, as well as this report with recommendations.

5:29Katie Watson. There's more evidence of the growing impact of the conflict in the Middle East on the global economy. The price of oil briefly rose above$120 a barrel on Wednesday. It's the highest figure since 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine. In recent weeks, following the ceasefire between the US and Iran, the price for a barrel of oil had generally been going down, amid hopes that a permanent deal to stop the fighting was imminent. But following reports that President Trump intends to extend the US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, possibly for months, the prices soared again. I spoke with our economics editor Faisal Islam, who explained why this was a significant moment.

6:10It is the highest we have seen for the Brent crude benchmark since the Russia invasion of Ukraine. But I think the context here is the markets had breathed a massive sigh of relief and fallen back down to 90 just a couple of weeks ago when the ceasefire was announced and then extended. And there was a sort of presumption underlining that, that there would be a glide path towards some sort of normalisation. And instead, what it appears that we have is a kind of equilibrium stasis. What triggered this was some reporting from well-connected sources that the Trump administration is talking about their blockade on Iran would last for months.

6:56There was a regular meeting with oil executives at the White House today where that sort of language was discussed. And all of this is part of a strategy which has avoided escalation of the bombing, but doesn't see a route to normalisation, and instead seeks to pressure using economic means, something called Operation Economic Fury, pressurises the Iranian government into conceding in some way. It's quite a move that in two weeks, 90 to 120. But it's almost like the jitters that it would give to any market to have had the relief rally and then bang, were back up to as high a level as we have seen.

7:35And what's likely to be the immediate impact of this high price and who's going to be worse affected? I think around the time that the oil price seemed to have come down, say, below$100 a barrel two, three weeks ago, you had started to see petrol prices in Europe. The presumption was that they would have peaked. Maybe they weren't going to come down sharply. They'd stopped going up. This throws that back up in the air again. And that's not just in Europe. Gasoline prices in America are well above$4 now highest levels since 2022. But you ask a very important question. Lots of comparisons are done between what's happened now and what happened when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.

8:14We're seeing price impacts everywhere. We're seeing less of a price impact in terms of gas, even though the Gulf matters for transited gas, especially from Qatar. And so it's less of a shock which was centred on Europe, which is what we got with Russia-Ukraine. Instead, quite logically, this is one centred on Asia. obviously that will flow through most logically to petrol and diesel prices jet fuel as well but you've got ancillary petrochemical derivatives things like urea for fertilizer you know i was told by the world bank president if the situation lasts till july which now looks more likely than not then you have an impact on the southern hemisphere's sowing season as well and that would then impact on food prices lots of uncertainty that's going to have impact on markets as well of course is there any room for optimism the only point of relative optimism is that economic pain may be more thinly spread around the world whereas it was very concentrated on europe four years ago that isn't really relief it's maybe just context but i do think now you're going to start to see companies acting on these sorts of probabilities and whereas they were taking a glass half full type of perspective given what happened a couple of weeks ago they're now going have to put in place the contingency plans, which assume that the Gulf stays shut at least until the summer.

9:33Faisal Islam. Meanwhile, the US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has been quizzed for over six hours on the Iran war by the Armed Services Committee. It's the first time he's been questioned in such a manner under oath. And he told lawmakers that about$25 billion had been spent on Operation epic fury. The Pentagon is requesting an unprecedented$1.5 trillion from Congress, which, Mr Hegseth says, reflects the urgency of the moment. There were strong exchanges. One Democrat, John Garamandi, said Trump was stuck in a quagmire, while Mr Hegseth replied, your hatred for Mr Trump blinds you. This exchange begins with the Democratic leader of the Armed Services Committee, Adam Smith.

10:19We had to start this war, you just said, 60 days ago, because the nuclear weapon was an imminent threat. Now you're saying that it was completely obliterated? They had not given up their nuclear ambitions, and they had a conventional shield of thousands of weapons. So Operation Midnight Hammer accomplished nothing of substance. It left us at exactly the same place we were before. So are we any clearer about what has been achieved so far in this war in Iran. Tom Bateman is our State Department correspondent. I think we heard a very robust defence of it from the Defence Secretary, very combative at times, particularly with opposition lawmakers.

11:00I mean, the fundamental reality for Mr Hegseth remains that he believes that they have effectively dealt with Iran's nuclear threat for now, despite the fact that these negotiations are not taking place and they haven't got a deal done, and that the blockade, the naval blockade at the moment, is adding pressure on Iran to try and force them to the negotiating table. I mean, Democrats was just simply not buying that and suggested that this had basically been a monumental waste of money and the lives of American soldiers, 13 who have died, and also put to him the fact that as far as they were concerned, the US was in no better position whatsoever when it came to Iran's nuclear threat, given that it was under Mr.

11:44Trump that the US violated the 2015 nuclear deal and pulled out of that, only to have this sort of zigzagging between diplomatic outreach and then military force with the Iranians that they believe has simply not succeeded. So it was a pretty feisty and quite heated set of exchanges at times. And I think, you know, we'll see Mr. Hegseth appear in front of senators tomorrow. But what the defence sector is trying to do here was get an unprecedented rise in the US military budget by 50 % to$1.5 trillion for next year. Clearly, as far as the Democrats were concerned, they did nothing to sort of assuage their concerns.

12:26Tom Bateman. Donald Trump has repeatedly said that the UK hasn't helped the US in its war with Iran. but British forces at just one military base in the Middle East have shot down more than 100 drones since the conflict began. Before the ceasefire, they and US forces at the base were being targeted by dozens of drones and missiles a day. The BBC's defence correspondent Jonathan Beale is the first reporter to visit the base since America and Israel's war with Iran started. With tensions still running high, he was given access to the young RAF regiment gunners who've helped save both British and American lives.

13:04Iran is left. This military flight is on its way to a coalition base in the Middle East, which houses both US and British forces. It has been one of the most heavily targeted bases in the region since this conflict began. We can't say exactly where it is other than it's somewhere in Iraq. Despite a ceasefire, it's soon clear the threat hasn't gone away.

13:35Just before landing, a drone's been spotted, followed by explosions.

13:44This time, it's aimed at Iraqi forces nearby.

13:51But on the ground, there's evidence this base has been hit too. quite a bit since I was last year. Air specialist Robinson of the RAF regiment describes life before the ceasefire. You are lying face down flat with these sirens going off with these noises overhead and you hear impacts, you hear weapons of destruction going off around you. It's bloody difficult. At the height of the conflict the base was targeted by up to 28 drones and missiles in a day. Just to give you a sense of the threat here, just the British side of the base, not the US, they've shot down more than 100 drones in just over a month using this system called Rapid Sentry.

14:37It's a great feeling. It's a proper adrenaline buzz. The young RAF gunners who operate the system, which looks like Robocop with missiles for arms, have less than a minute to detect, track and destroy the drones. We had 14 drones in one night. That was a consistent engagement of just getting in, putting a missile on the tube, whack out again, fire, back in. But the tempo, even during the day, when you expect them to attack at night, is still high. Have you had any close shaves? I can't really go into specifics, but we've had a few close encounters, yeah. Us and the Americans have. There was one after the other and there was no break.

15:13So this ceasefire is a nice break for us, yeah. This brief visit was only possible because of the ceasefire. An opportunity for the Defence Minister and RAF Chief to pass on their praise. I would argue this place would be a smouldering wreck if it wasn't for you guys. And to counter President Trump's claim, the UK's been missing in action. Al Karnes is the Armed Forces Minister. We've helped move Americans out of harm's way. We've helped protect them and they've helped protect us. This is a defensive posture from our perspective. will stay in that defensive posture, but the relationship is strong.

15:48The US and UK were here working together long before this war started. But their primary mission, the fight against ISIS, is now focused on survival. Jonathan Beale with that report.

16:06Still to come in this podcast. I think I caught a glimpse of him wearing a cap. That was, was he wearing a cap? Chaotic scenes as Sebastian Sawi is welcomed back in Kenya following his record-breaking London marathon.

16:27Hi, Uncle Lazer here. America's built on fast cars, fast food, and even faster women. Moto Casino's built in America. You know what they're fast at? Fast cash prize redemption. You see, only Moto is US-owned and operated. Moto. It's American made. That's who we are. And that's who we care about. Play for free at Moto.US. Moto Casino is the social casino. Avoid were prohibited. No purchase necessary. Visit Moto.US for more details. Must be 21 plus. Moto Casino. American social casino. This is Ashley Akinetti from the Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous podcast. You know that moment when you're in your stylist chair and you're describing your dream hair like it's a Pinterest board come to life.

17:08but you have zero idea how to make it happen at home, that is my Roman Empire. But Amiga totally gets it. Their clean, vegan, cruelty-free, clinically proven formulas are why stylists swear by them. I'm obsessed with the wizard detangling primer. It's like a magic spell for my hair. For a limited time, save 15 % off your order with code FAMOUS15 on loveamiga.com. Restrictions may apply. Looking for excitement? Chumba Casino is here. Play anytime, play anywhere. Play on the train, play at the store, play at home, play when you're bored. Play today for your chance to win and get daily bonuses when you log in.

17:50So what are you waiting for? Don't delay. Chumba Casino is free to play. Experience social gameplay like never before. Go to Chumba Casino right now to play hundreds of games, including online slots, Slingo, and more. Live the Chumba life at Chumbacasino.com. No purchase necessary. VGW group void. We're prohibited by law. 21 plus terms and conditions apply. Hey, it's Ryan Seacrest for Jewel Osco. Spring is a time to give yourself a refresh, so spend time on self-rejuvenation. Shop in-store and online for great savings on all your favorite personal care items. Now through May 26, earn four times points when you shop participating items like Pantene Shampoo, Crest Toothpaste, Tampax Radiant, Native Shampoo, and Secret Gel Deodorant.

18:27Then redeem points for discounts on future purchases of groceries or fuel. Offer ends May 26. Restrictions apply. Offers may vary. Visit jewelosco.com for more details. This is the Global News Podcast. The United States is charged the serving governor of the Mexican state of Sinaloa with alleged drug trafficking. It's requesting the arrest and extradition of Governor Ruben Rocha Moya, accusing him of having ties to the powerful Sinaloa drug cartel. Nine other current and former officials have also been indicted. The Mexican government says there's not enough evidence to support the allegations.

19:06Our Mexico correspondent Will Grant told me more about Mr Rocha and what the US is accusing him of. Well, Mr Rocha has been the governor of Sinaloa since November 2021. He's from the governing party of Morena, which is the same party as President Claudia Sheinbaum. And in essence, at the heart of this indictment from the Trump administration is the suggestion that Mr Rocha was using one faction of the Sinaloa cartel to get himself elected, that he was using state forces to protect them, to tip them off from US-backed law enforcement operations, in essence bringing his power as governor to protect one, if you like, favoured cartel in the state, a very powerful cartel that's linked with much of the fentanyl traffic that goes into the United States.

19:59and he did that both for obviously his own personal gain and to strengthen his position as government. That is something of course he has denied any time there's been a suggestion of drug trafficking links against him. And how's this request gone down with the authorities or the government in Mexico, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum? Is she likely to refuse this request for extradition? I think it's a huge political bombshell really for Claudia Sheinbaum. I mean it's not just Mr Rocha, There's also a senator in there, the mayor of the capital of Sinaloa, Kulia Khan. The deputy attorney general for Sinaloa is in there.

20:35Other officials, including police officials. It's very, very difficult for her politically. What's been interesting is that the foreign ministry has come out quite quickly with the suggestion that what is in the paperwork from the US embassy requesting their arrest towards their eventual extradition is lacking the necessary evidence. The way they put it was that it did not include the elements of proof against those whose arrest has been requested and that the final decision would, of course, lie with the Attorney-General's office. But I think that shows us that this is extremely difficult and going to be a new point of contention between the Shane Bound administration and the Trump administration.

21:14Will Grant in Mexico City. Sebastian Saue has returned home to joyous scenes in Kenya after becoming the first man to run a marathon in under two hours in competitive race conditions. His Kenyan Airways plane was given a water cannon salute following his historic London Marathon win. He was greeted by government officials and is also expected to meet President William Ruto. Our Africa correspondent, Barbara Pet Usher, was there to witness the chaotic scenes at Kenyatta Airport. My name is Gabriel Muthuma. I'm the deputy government spokesperson. Yes, and we are here, as you can see. It's pomp and colour, waiting for the man who did it, the Saab 2, Sebastian Sawe.

21:57You know, it's a big day for Kenya. How big a day is it? It is huge. It is huge. This is what we've been waiting for. And what will you say to Sebastian when you meet him? Oh, man, a lot of congratulations. We never thought we could see it this year because we knew people are still trying to train on it. But he has surprised everyone. There's a whole row of airport workers standing, watching and waiting to see as well. We are feeling excited since this is our own son. So now we are very enjoyable. Do you feel lucky that you were working tonight? Yes, I'm lucky.

22:37There he is. That's him. I think that was him. The camera crush is intense.

22:48I think I caught a glimpse of him wearing a cap. Was he wearing a cap? Yeah. Okay. There was such a crush of cameras, people and officials around him that I could barely see him. And then they put him into a vehicle and he's driven off.

23:13There are traditional dancers and singers performing outside the building to which Sebastian was taken, the VIP lounge. So I think he is going to come out and speak to us. And I just bumped into some of Sebastian's relatives. His grandmother and his mother and his father are inside, so have met him already.

23:46So he's saying that he's very happy and grateful. He never expected this to happen and he didn't do it alone. This record belongs to all of us, he says, and let's support all of Kenya's sports people so we can continue lifting the country up. What a couple of days it's been for him. I suspect he'll start training again very soon. He's already been talking about his next competition and he says he thinks it's possible to run an even faster marathon. on. Barbara Plett Usher at Kenyatta Airport. 11 cancers are becoming more common in young people in England, according to a major analysis, but a full explanation for why remains elusive.