Israel hits back at sanctions on settlers

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1:15This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service. Hello, I'm Oliver Conway. We're recording this at 4h GMT on Wednesday 9th September. Israel hits back after the UK, France and Canada imposed sanctions on settlements in the occupied West Bank. Fighting flares up again between the US and Iran with numerous ships targeted. And there's a warning about teenagers' declining performance at school in the digital era. Also in this podcast, as Star Trek continues to boldly go... We have flip phone communicators and video calls and things like that, but we don't have teleportation and we don't have faster than light travel.

1:57We look at the technology the show predicted 60 years ago.

2:06Israel has responded angrily to the announcement of new sanctions against Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank. A statement from Britain, France, Canada and nine other nations said the Israeli government's actions in the territory were undermining the possibility of a two-state solution, which would see a Palestinian nation existing peacefully alongside Israel. Such a deal has long seemed unlikely, but it would be virtually impossible if Israel goes ahead with its plan to build more than 1 ,000 homes on a key piece of occupied land known as E1. Violent attacks by settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank have also increased in recent months.

2:44Setting out the new policy, the British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband accused what he called settler terrorists of ethnic cleansing. a claim that was fiercely rejected by his Israeli counterpart, Gidon Sarr. The accusations made today by the foreign secretary in the British Parliament were outrageous lies. We know that we have many friends in Britain. Unfortunately, a hostile Labour government is in office, systematically acting against the state of Israel. But Hossam Zumblot, the current Palestinian UK ambassador, praised the new approach. We welcome this decision and commend Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband for translating Britain's recognition of the state of Palestine and its obligation under international law into concrete action.

3:39Several other nations have already taken action over the settlements and the latest development leaves Israel looking increasingly isolated at a time when support for it is waning in its traditional ally, the US. So how serious a moment is this for the Israeli government? I asked our international editor, Jeremy Bowen. I think they have to take it seriously. I think their tone is already defiant and that's going to deepen. There's no doubt about it. Not just because there is an election at the end of October. And actually, in terms of opinion inside Israel, there is an overwhelming majority against the idea of a Palestinian state, a majority which has sort of strengthened and deepened since the 7th of October attacks.

4:23And Mr. Miliband, Britain's foreign secretary's attempt to, if you like, square the circle by saying, look, this is not about the people of Israel. It's not about the state of Israel. It's about the actions of the government of Israel. I don't think that is a distinction that the Israelis particularly, are going to accept. However, I think the fact that there now is a long list of countries who are backing up Britain on this, and the Americans so far may change, the Americans so far have not said anything strong against it. Well, that suggests that the Israelis are under even more pressure and are more isolated than they were before.

5:06The British government has said this is about protecting the two-state solution, and yet it affects trade of only about$50 million or so. Will it make any difference? Well, it's not really about the money. I think it's about the politics and the geopolitics as well. I mean, Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, said that, that Britain had a moral, historical and geopolitical responsibility because the point he makes is that the turmoil that is and the growing violence in the West Bank is bad for Israel's security as well as being bad for the region. Because, of course, as we well know, this conflict has a great capacity for exporting trouble elsewhere.

5:50But, yeah, I think, you know, one thing that has changed since the 7th of October attacks is that any artifice on the Israeli side about, But well, under certain circumstances, we might have a Palestinian state or something like that. That's gone. And now that any artifice on the side which is opposing what Israel has been doing is also going as well. Miliband's language in the commons was stripped bare of diplomatic fudge. It was very direct. Moral emergency, a stain on the conscience of the world in Gaza, evidence of war crimes, settler terrorism, ethnic cleansing. Think back to the days after the 7th of October attacks when Keir Starmer, though he did walk back the remarks afterwards when he was British Prime Minister, and he did an interview where he basically agreed with what the Israelis were saying at the time, that they could cut off food and water to Gaza.

6:42I mean, that is a massive change. Might the Israelis now looking out at all these other countries opposing them, might they just push on with this E1 settlement, for example? I think undoubtedly this government will. Undoubtedly. They've already got tenders out for construction. The Israelis have wanted to develop that sector since the 90s. What stopped them up to now has been the US government, successive American presidents saying that that is too far, that that really will torpedo the prospects of the two-state solution, which is still official American policy, even though they're doing zero to try to make it happen.

7:23You know, the thing too about this, this idea of a two state solution, in other words, peace, fire, independent Palestine alongside independent Israel, it's quoted so often by Western governments, not least the British over many years now, and it has become an empty slogan. You know, you can you can make an argument, which is a pretty strong argument, that the silence over many years of Israel's allies about what was going on, while at the same time they're saying there should be a two-state solution, actually made them complicit in what was happening, enabled what was happening. And they are trying, and many Palestinians would say it's a bit late, guys, isn't it?

8:03There are 700 ,000 Israelis plus in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem Territory, occupied since 1967. And that is something. How do you turn that clock back? Very, very difficult, not to say impossible, but no one has actually ever come up with a solution that is better. Our international editor, Jeremy Bowen. Meanwhile, there's been another flare-up in fighting between the US and Iran, with US Central Command saying it's destroyed five Iranian oil tankers after an American warship was targeted. Iran retaliated by attacking Jordan, while earlier saying it had captured an underwater US drone in the Strait of Hormuz.

8:45I got the details from our reporter, Gigi Arn. This is, in a sense, a significant step in their current tit-for-tat escalation. Iran saying that it's now carried out retaliatory military strikes on US military positions in Jordan after the US destroyed, as you mentioned, five Iranian oil tankers. Now, Jordan has come out and said that it intercepted and destroyed 18 out of 20 missiles from Iran and that there wasn't any damage. But we are going to have to wait to see what Washington has to say. Now, the destruction of these five Iranian oil tankers, which Washington says, again came in response to two attempted ballistic missile attacks by the Islamic Republic Guard Corps against a US Navy ship.

9:22There weren't any American casualties. But again, this is another play on Washington and Tehran kind of going at each other, battling each other and doing sort of retaliatory strikes. The important thing to note is that one of the Iranian tankers that was targeted by the US was hit close to Khag Island, which is Iran's main oil export. And it's a crucial point for getting Iranian crude into the international market. And it also comes at a time when although it's not the first time that attacks have taken place here, it does come after the US said it would avoid oil and gas infrastructure attacks in Iran.

9:53So essentially, the US is putting pressure on one of Iran's most important sources of revenue by targeting oil tankers that are linked to the revolutionary Garkor. And in the past couple of hours, Iran has threatened to widen the response. Further, the IRGC has warned tanker crews around Kuwait and Bahrain to evacuate, which potentially raises concerns that the attacks and strikes are going to happen in the wider region. It also comes at a time when Marco Rubio, who's visiting Colombia, mentioned that every time Iran tries to hit Washington, Washington is going to retaliate back again. So this confrontation is just going to continue and escalate further moving forwards.

10:28Gigi Arn. A global survey has found a dramatic decline in teenagers' abilities in science, mathematics and reading over the past three years. The OECD looked at more than 700 ,000 schools in 91 countries as part of its regular study. Joanna Keane has been looking at the latest figures. Now in science there was a fall. Maths scores fell sharply, again to their lowest ever levels. Reading fell even further, the biggest drop between tests ever seen. And overall we're now seeing that one in five 15-year-old students across the OECD is now classed as a low performer, 20 % that is, compared to 16 % in 2022.

11:10But the researchers are also saying, look, it's not just about maths and reading. These students are lacking basic skills for everyday life, like, you know, going to a supermarket and finding out which product is the best value. And worth also mentioning China, Japan, Singapore, Estonia and the United Kingdom were among the top 10 performing education systems. Why are they now so bad at reading? Is it all to do with their phones? Sort of, yes. It goes beyond literacy, shall we say. They talk about instances of hasty reading. So students are reading quickly but inaccurately. And the amount of students doing that nearly doubled to 9 % between 2018 and 2025.

11:52We're living in an increasingly digital world, more screen time, more social media. AI chatbots are being used by 46 % of students at least once a week. So researchers are saying, look, when it comes to AI, it's a complex picture. It can strengthen learning and help prepare people for the future, but only when it's used purposefully, they say. So use it with care and in moderation. Students are also being distracted by digital devices during lessons, which probably doesn't come as a surprise to many people. Researchers also say, look, that we're really troubled by a decline in the very skills that matter most in the AI age, which they say are evaluating information, making connections across all these multiple sources coming at them, and then thinking critically about what they're reading.

12:38And what can be done about it? They're calling for investment in teachers, give them what they need to succeed, whether that be training, resources, mentors, but also greater involvement from parents. They're saying actually a holistic approach works, even if it's something simple like, how was your day at school? What did you do today? Get everyone involved. And they're also saying, look, set high expectations and then teach fewer things in greater depth. And they also point out, look, students need a sense of belonging to perform well. 90 % of students in Spain, for example, felt that they belonged.

13:13That falls to 64 % in countries like Denmark and Poland. Girls often feel that they don't belong as much as boys and also disadvantaged students as well don't feel that sense of belonging. Joanna Keane. Still to come on this podcast? A small little, I think it's like thick paper that they put underneath your lower eyelid for about 10 minutes. How testing a person's tears can help detect brain cancer.

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15:26Mike and his guests offer their perspective on how policy changes could affect what you do with your portfolio. Download the latest episode and follow at schwab.com slash Washington Wise or wherever you listen.

15:43This is the Global News Podcast. A blanket of toxic haze is enveloping parts of Indonesia and spreading into Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines as wildfires continue to burn. More than 2 ,000 square kilometres of land has been scorched in Sumatra and Kalimantan, with residents describing the smog as so thick they can't even see their own feet. Our Indonesia correspondent, Lisa Tambunan, sent this report.

16:36Who's your name? Borneo Island, have turned an ominous glowing orange. For millions living downwind, every breath carries the acrid taste of burnt earth. Residents are increasingly concerned over the toll the haze is taking on their health, particularly for young children. This woman lives in Pontianak, one of the worst affected cities. I'm worried that we might all get a sake one after another because of this haze. My niece is still young and her cough hasn't gone away for two weeks now. Between July and August, Indonesia's health ministry recorded 50 ,000 cases of respiratory infections attributed to land and forest fires.

17:22More than 12 ,000 of those cases are children under the age of five. So the authorities are ramping up fire suppression efforts on the ground and in the air. An integrated response is underway through land and air operations, including hotspot monitoring and extinguishing, aerial water bombing and weather modification. But the fires continue to burn, led both by big companies and individual farmers to clean land for agriculture. And this year's Super El Niño weather pattern, bringing drought conditions, has made this Indonesia's worst fire season since 2015. The climate impact is staggering. Data from the European Union's Copernicus Climate Monitoring Service shows that Indonesian fires put out more than 20 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in just seven days earlier this month, accounting for more than one-third of the global total.

18:20And senior scientist Mark Parrington says satellite sensors may not pick up many of the peak fires burning in Indonesia. One of the aspects with peak fires is if they're burning at low temperatures or underground, they're below the detection limit of the sensors, which means we're not actually seeing them. And so we're probably underestimating, possibly to quite some degree, the actual emissions in the end. The number of hotspots detected in August and early September surpassed 13 ,000, much higher than the 9 ,400 recorded over the same period in 2015, according to the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry.

18:59Once again, Indonesia finds itself unable to do much else apart from wasting for the monsoon rains, which may not come for another two months. Lisa Tambunin in Indonesia. The 9-11 attacks on the US killed about 3 ,000 people, most of them in the World Trade Center in New York. As each of the Twin Towers fell, the streets of Lower Manhattan were engulfed in a dense cloud of dust. Now 25 years on, New York officials have released tens of thousands of previously undisclosed documents showing the city knew about the toxic air around Ground Zero, but kept the details from the public. The current New York Mayor Zoran Mamdani and comedian John Stewart have been campaigning on the issue.

19:42This report from our New York correspondent, Neda Talfik. More people have died from 9-11 related illnesses than were killed on the day of the attacks, with thousands developing serious illnesses, including cancer. And 25 years on, survivors, first responders and advocates especially have been battling for transparency around what city officials knew about the toxic air around Ground Zero and whether they were honest in their assurances to the public that it was safe to return. Now, one of the documents included in this release is an October 2001 memo written to the deputy of then Mayor Rudy Giuliani, in which city lawyers warn that the city could be sued over health advisories that led individuals to return to the area too soon, revealing that the city was well aware then of serious health risks from toxic dust and airborne contaminants at the site and were concerned about potential lawsuits.

20:46Now, the records, according to New York officials, were stored in 68 boxes in a city office, and many were only discovered last year. And Mayor Mondani announced the release of the documents at a press conference surrounded by survivors and advocates, including Jon Stewart, who long campaigned for continued funding for victims. And Mayor Mondani, promising transparency, said that people got sick because the leaders they trusted lied. The darkest day New York City has ever known. And yet the devastating truth is that the suffering did not end once the smoke cleared and the dust settled. For so many New Yorkers who lived or worked or studied near ground zero and for the thousands of others who worked on the pile, recovering those we lost and clearing the rubble.

21:36That was only the beginning of years of hardship and illness that would follow. John Stewart, he also spoke, and he said that the records confirmed what many New Yorkers suspected for years. There was poison in the air and on the ground and in the windowsills and in your air conditioners and covering your pets and your clothes. And it stayed there for months. Everyone knew. And now it's very clear that the city knew as well. He accused city officials of prioritising getting New York back up and running over public health concerns and with hiding the truth for 25 years. Neda Taufik in New York.

22:23Could crying help save lives? British scientists are developing a screening test that can quickly show if a patient has a brain tumour simply by analysing their tears. It's proved successful in initial trials and could help doctors diagnose brain cancer earlier. Our reporter Roger Johnson visited the University of Manchester. This looks like any other laboratory in any other hospital or university, but the work being done here is unique. The groundbreaking test, which has been developed in Manchester, started with a casual chat between two scientists in a bar in Denmark. One of them was Slovakia-born Professor Petra Hamalik.

23:03In that conversation, it somehow came up that he was analysing tears for some ocular diseases. And I was like, what if there is a connection? Because we know that the eye is the extension of the central nervous system. So we speculated that maybe whatever is happening in the brain, when the tumour starts growing, it's mirrored and reflected in the tear fluid. So that was like kind of the first thought. And it proved to be right. That was back in 2012. Professor Hamelik had tried blood tests, but they didn't work. This test is simple. Huma Candlis, a brain tumour patient, took part. Because he's had surgery, they know exactly what tumour he has and so could see if the test identified it.

23:43It was on both eyes, so they just, a small little, I think it's like thick paper, that they put underneath your lower eyelid for about ten minutes and then it had to get all the way to the bottom so they could see the colour change and then they took it away. It made your eyes feel a bit dry, but that was it. So far, around 500 people have taken part in the NHS-approved study across eight different sites. Researchers in other countries, aware of the exciting possibilities, are helping for free. Medics say developing successful brain cancer screening will improve outcomes and spur investments in new treatments, which have changed little for decades.

24:22Dr Mohamed Harris is a neuro-oncologist. What I can see is that if we have tests or if we have options where we can figure cancers, especially brain tumours earlier, they are able to get recruited into more interventional trials where they'll be more fitter for those treatments and that way we can overall improve treatment options. Professor Hamalik remains cautious and it's likely to be another decade before her test is rolled out. The field is moving cosmic speed. So my thinking is by the time we get the test approved, there might be treatment and I believe there will be treatment that we can offer the patients.

25:00And she's driven by personal experience. Growing up in rural Slovakia, Professor Hamalek's dad died with a brain tumour when she was 15. I have always been curious about whether we can detect brain tumours before they become symptomatic because especially in the case of my father, it took eight months for the clinicians to figure out he has a brain tumour because for many doctors they would see in the GP, in the point of care, they would see maybe one patient, two patients in their whole career. So it's very rare. So although there's much more to be done, it's easy to see why this simple screening test could be a massive breakthrough.

25:35Roger Johnson reporting from Manchester. From science to science fiction now and Star Trek has turned 60. The TV show in which Captain Kirk and others explore space, the final frontier, is a cultural phenomenon. It was first broadcast in a world where computers were the size of an office desk, but foreshadowed technological breakthroughs like mobile phones, video calls and voice assistants. Dr Glyn Morgan works at the Science Museum in London, which is hosting an exhibition of props from the series. He told Valerie Sanderson how Star Trek's visions of the future had played out. I think massively.

26:13So where people sometimes fall down when talking about the predictive power of science fiction is when you're talking about specific devices or events. So, yes, we have flip phone communicators and video calls and things like that, but we don't have teleportation and we don't have faster than light travel and all of that kind of thing. Well, not yet. Not yet. Yes. It's late. It's off schedule. But what science fiction and what specifically Star Trek does do is inspire individuals. So we have a fantastic space collection in the Science Museum. We're the only museum in the world where you can see a flown Apollo capsule from the NASA space program and a flown Soyuz capsule as flown by the Russian space program side by side.

27:02So we're really trying to tell that world history of space. And so we talked to a lot of people in different space agencies all over the world. And inevitably, you find a large swathe of them who are inspired to get into space technology and space science because of a love of Star Trek, particularly when they were younger. And why do you think it was such a global hit? I think because the vision of the future that Gene Roddenberry proposes in the original Star Trek and then which is obviously carried through is a really optimistic and positive vision, which is quite different from a lot of what we see on science fiction, TV and film.