Pope calls for peace on Turkey visit

0:00This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK. If journalism is the first draft of history, what happens if that draft is flawed? In 1999, four Russian apartment buildings were bombed, hundreds killed. But even now, we still don't know for sure who did it. It's a mystery that sparked chilling theories. I'm Helena Merriman, and in a new BBC series, I'm talking to the reporters who first covered this story. What did they miss the first time? The History Bureau, Putin and the apartment bombs. Listen on bbc.com or wherever you get your podcasts. This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service.

0:47I'm Celia Hatton and at 1600 GMT on Thursday, the 27th of November, these are our main stories. Pope Leo warns about rising levels of conflict in the world on a visit to Turkey, his first foreign trip. The CIA director says the man suspected of shooting two National Guard officers in Washington is an Afghan who worked with U.S. forces. Venezuela bans six major airlines as tensions escalate with the U.S. Also in this podcast, one of the world's biggest beer companies is hit by a cyber attack. and why taking photos of planes has two Chinese teenagers facing prison time in South Korea.

1:35Let's begin in Turkey, where Pope Leo XIV has received a grand welcome on his first foreign trip as the leader of the Roman Catholic Church.

1:51The Pope was greeted with a brass band and gun salute as he met President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the capital, Ankara. Turkey is a Muslim-majority country. Less than 1 % of the population is Christian. But there is hope that the Pope's visit will help build bridges between religions. What's more, Turkey has positioned itself as a mediator in the war in Gaza and conflicts across the Middle East, a role Pope Leo referenced in his speech at the presidential complex. It is true that human history has centuries of conflict behind it and that the world around us is still destabilized by ambitions and choices that trample on justice and peace.

2:37At the same time, when faced with challenges, being a people with such a great past is both a gift and a responsibility. Mr. President, may Turkey be a source of stability and rapprochement between peoples. Speaking through a translator, President Erdogan thanked the Pope for his commitment to peace. I would like to make it clear that we have always deeply appreciated the steadfast stones of our esteemed guest and of his predecessors, particularly on the Palestinian issue. As the large family of humanity, our greatest debt to the Palestinian people is justice. And the way to repay this debt is to implement, without delay, the two-state solution vision based on the 1967 borders.

3:35For more on the papal visit, I spoke with Hilkin Boren from the BBC's Turkish service in Istanbul. Right now I'm in front of two historical landmarks. One is Hagia Sophia and the other one is the Blue Mosque, the Sultanahmet Mosque. And the Pope's visit could not come at a better time to emphasize the importance of these bridges. Right now, it's just seagulls and tourists eating the famous Turkish bagel known as Simit. But on Saturday, the Pope himself will be visiting this square and the Sultanahmet Mosque in a show of interfaith dialogue. And this visit was actually originally planned by the late Pope Francis on the invitation of the Turkish president.

4:11But the Pope Leo announced that he would go ahead with it after being elected. So there are two aspects, two very crucial points of it. One is a message of peace for the region and the wider world by the Pope. And to that end, he will be talking with President Erdogan and other politicians and diplomats. The other aspect is a message of unity for the faith, for Christianity. And this is also really crucial because the Pope and other religious leaders will have been giving messages of unity as they're emphasizing the importance of a ceremony, a commemoration ceremony that is going to take place on Friday in Iznik, what was once known as Nicaea.

4:47Helken, you paint a very vivid picture of the scene. I mean, can you take us through some of the key points of the Pope over the next few days and what's expected? Yes, he will be in the capital for the most part, and then he will fly to Istanbul later on. And then tomorrow on Friday, he will be visiting the historic city of Iznik, Nicaea, where over 1 ,700 years ago, the first council of Nicaea convened. This was a turning point in Christian history where the clergy resolved theological disputes on the divinity of Jesus Christ and other important matters. He will also have the time to visit Armenian and Syrian Orthodox churches and meet the ecumenical patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, who is the spiritual leader of Eastern Orthodox Christians.

5:30And another highlight of his trip will be leading a mass in Istanbul before he leaves for Beirut. I'd mentioned that less than 1 % of the population identifies as being Christian. So how is this being seen by Turks? We've had the chance to talk to some shopkeepers here and also locals of Iznik on a previous visit we had there. And what we've been hearing from them is most of them did not even know that the Pope was coming. and the shopkeepers in Sultanahmet were especially worried because of the security measures and some of them have said that this might mean they wouldn't be able to open their shops and stalls as the Pope was visiting.

6:08As for the natives, they're approaching this on a cultural and touristic manner saying that they hope it generates income and helps elevate the image of their town as a touristic destination. But all in all, right now, this is not making headlines in Turkish media. Not all the people are aware of it, But more people will be here because most of the main arteries will be closed for the next four days and life will be disrupted in this huge city of more than 15 million people. And just briefly, Halkman, this is coming at a politically sensitive time in Turkey as President Erdogan continues to target the opposition.

6:46Yes, President Erdogan's main rival, former Istanbul mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, remains locked in jail since March. There are also court cases against the main opposition party and senior opposition figures. but the international response to these political moves and crises have been muted to say the least. World leaders visiting President Erdogan have been very very careful with their approach to this issue especially given Ankara's role as a mediator or facilitator in multiple conflicts across the world. So it would not be unrealistic to expect a similar approach by the Pope but certainly this trip presents a chance for him to display skills as a head of state with the whole world watching.

7:22Hilkin Boran in Istanbul. We have some more details now on a story we covered in our earlier edition, the shooting of two National Guard officers in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday. The director of the CIA, John Ratcliffe, says the suspect is an Afghan who worked with U.S. forces in Afghanistan. It's reported that he led a team of Afghan troops. The two National Guard officers have now been named. They're Sarah Beckstrom, who's 20, and Andrew Wolfe, who's 24. They're both in critical condition. The attorney general for the District of Columbia, Janine Pirro, told reporters it's believed the suspect lived on the West Coast and traveled to Washington, D.C.

8:06to carry out the attack. Two uniformed guardsmen were ambushed in a brazen and targeted attack. A lone gunman opened fire without provocation, ambush style, armed with a.357 Smith & Wesson revolver. One guardsman is struck, goes down, and then the shooter leans over and strikes the guardsman again. Another guardsman is struck several times. Fellow guardsmen who were there responded immediately, engaging the suspect, neutralizing the threat and subduing him at the scene. He was transported to a local hospital where he remains, as we speak, under heavy guard. Thanks to the swift and coordinated response of the National Guard and the Metropolitan Police Department, no additional victims were harmed and the scene was secured within minutes.

9:05The suspect, he has been identified as Ramanullah Lekhanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan who entered the United States under Biden's Operation Allies Welcome, a program following the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan. He resided in Bellingham, Washington with his wife and, we believe, five children. And we're working very closely with our federal partners, especially DHS and the FBI, to review his immigration history and the vetting process itself. What we know about him is that he drove his vehicle across country from the state of Washington with the intended target of coming to our nation's capital.

9:57D.C.'s Attorney General Janine Pirro. A key part of the Gaza ceasefire was the creation of the so-called Yellow Line, a demarcation point separating the parts of Gaza controlled by Hamas from the parts surrounding it still occupied by Israeli forces. But dozens of Hamas fighters are still in tunnels behind Israel's Yellow Line. And yesterday, Hamas issued a press release accusing Israel of attacking those men. Our correspondent in Jerusalem, Yulan Nell, has the details. We knew about the presence of these Hamas fighters stranded in the tunnels behind Israeli lines really since early on in the ceasefire.

10:37Israel's talked about it. Also, the US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, he spoke earlier this month about 200 fighters who were trapped in Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip. The numbers we hear vary between 100 to 200. And the Americans have seemed to suggest that their surrender, that handing in their weapons could be a kind of pilot for Hamas to disarm and a test for both sides in the ceasefire. But the message that's been coming out from Israel is that it's not willing to compromise on this to give these Hamas operatives safe passage to the part of Gaza it's pulled out from. That's even though we saw, you know, just a week into the ceasefire that these fighters pose a real danger to its troops on the ground.

11:16That was when they killed two soldiers and Israel retaliated. And at the time, it really looked like that could derail the ceasefire early on. Hamas said it lost contact with these cells months ago. There's been another message put out on social media by Hamas' armed wing saying that it never surrenders. And this press release says that Hamas has been making what it describes as great efforts with various political leaders and mediators to resolve the issue of the fighters, to let them return home. It says it's presented specific ideas and mechanisms, but Israel has undermined all these efforts.

11:48And at least twice in the past few days, we have heard of Israeli troops killing fighters. five or six each time as they've emerged from tunnels. And so it looks like that could be how Israel plans to deal with the problem. Yolan Nell in Jerusalem. With tensions increasing between Venezuela and the United States in recent months, and President Trump warning of heightened military activity in the area, some international airlines suspended flights there. Now they're being punished for it. Six major carriers have been banned from landing in the country after missing Venezuela's 48-hour deadline to resume their schedules.

12:27Our website's America's editor, Vanessa Buschluter, told me more. I think your description there was spot on. It is a punishment. But let me go back to Friday to get you up to speed to how this all unfolded. So on Friday, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration issued what is called a notice to air missions. It's like a warning of dangers or risks that may be happening in a certain area. And they warned of heightened military activity around Maiketia, which is where the international airport is located, which serves Caracas, the capital of Venezuela. And in the days afterwards, a number of airlines decided to act on that because they have a responsibility to their passengers for safety and also to their insurers.

13:12And they thought that this risk of military activity was heightened and decided to suspend their flights in and out of Caracas for at least some days, in some cases a week. Now, Venezuela did not take this to this very kindly. They saw this as a political move. They thought that these airlines were siding with the United States. As you know, the United States has been strident in its criticism of the Venezuelan government, saying that the president is a drug trafficker, which he denies. And so they saw these airlines as taking sides and then decided to give them 48 hours to resume these flights.

13:53Of course, many people said that that was a bit like cutting off your nose to spite your face, because now that these airlines didn't resume the flights within 48 hours, Venezuela is left with a situation where six major airlines aren't flying into the country anymore. Now, you and I have both touched on this, but let's just delve in a little bit more. I mean, what is the backdrop to these tensions between the United States, Donald Trump and Venezuela and their leader, Nicolas Maduro? Last year in July, there was a presidential election in Venezuela and the opposition and many countries viewed that election as rigged.

14:32They say that the re-election of President Maduro was illegitimate. And that's what is at the base of this tension. And of course, when then Donald Trump was reelected, he decided to turn the screws on Nicolás Maduro, who not only does he say is a illegitimate president, but he also accuses him of being the head of a drug trafficking cartel. Now, there are doubts as to whether that is accurate, because there's very little evidence to link the president himself to drug trafficking. But there's little doubt about the fact that people in the military in Venezuela have engaged in that drug trafficking.

15:11And so the US has stepped up its pressure on Venezuela and with the stated aim of combating drug trafficking. But many say that its military operations are so big, they look more like an attempt at regime change. Vanessa Bush-Luter. Still to come in this podcast. This case is emphasising the constitutional rights of young Australians to discuss politics. And this ban removes an entire age group from our modern way of communicating politically. The Australian teenagers fighting for under-16s to stay on social media.

15:57If journalism is the first draft of history, what happens if that draft is flawed? In 1999, four Russian apartment buildings were bombed, hundreds killed. But even now, we still don't know for sure who did it. It's a mystery that sparked chilling theories. I'm Helena Merriman, and in a new BBC series, I'm talking to the reporters who first covered this story. What did they miss the first time? The History Bureau, Putin and the apartment bombs. Listen on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts.

16:34Tunisia has freed the jailed lawyer and activist Sonia Damani after approximately 18 months in detention. She was imprisoned under Tunisia's controversial cybercrime law after she criticized the government's stance on undocumented migrants. For more on the story, I'm joined by our global affairs reporter, Sebastian Asher. Sebastian, what do we know about Sonia Damani and her case? Well, she is a lawyer and a human rights activist who has appeared a lot of times on Tunisian TV talking about various issues, about migration, for example. That was what she got into trouble for last year. That's this particular case that saw her in prison for the past 18 months or so when she criticised the way that migrants from sub-Saharan Africa are treated.

17:22But she's talked about the conditions in prisons before in a more general context. She's a very strong critic of the president, Kaya Syed, one of the best known, one of the most prominent. After being democratically elected back in 2019, a couple of years later, he essentially took over the country. It's been pretty much one man rule since then. And she has been one of the people who has really stood out against this. Sebastian, thank you. Sebastian Usher. Two Chinese teenagers have been accused of crimes in South Korea that, if found guilty, could see them serving life sentences. They were arrested and then charged for allegedly taking photos outside a military airbase.

18:04We heard from our correspondent in Seoul, Jake Kwan. Back in March, the police apprehended these two high school students outside a military base in Suwon, about an hour and a half south from where I am in Seoul. And what they found is that they filmed these jet fighters taking off and landing at the military airbase. And in their possession were these telephoto lenses, which are these camera lenses that people use to take photo of very sharp images of something that is far away, as well as a walkie talkie. And then later, the police discovered hundreds of photos in their possession, which showed that they had been traveling to multiple military airbases, as well as civilian airports, filming jet fighters that has been taken off and down.

18:47So they have been charged with a crime called aiding the enemy. This is as close as you get to an espionage charge in South Korea. And it carries a penalty of minimum three years and up to a life in prison. And this is not the first or the last time a Chinese national were caught filming outside a military base. So what's been the reaction to this case, both in South Korea, but also in China? Well, we don't know whether there is some undercurrent kind of conversation happening behind the scene. But openly, the reaction has been quite mum. South Koreans are, of course, alarmed by these series of events.

19:23But the Chinese ambassador has commented recently saying that, you know, there are tens of thousands of Chinese students as well as many, many more tourists in Korea. And there's bound to be very few extreme cases like that. So that Korean people should not be alarmed by these very few cases and try to generalize the entire Chinese population. Though this all takes place amid rising anti-China sentiment inside South Korea. Yes, and that is exactly what the Chinese ambassador in Seoul was trying to aim at. He was really warning South Korean people against this, what he sees as a sharpening of anti-China sentiment in South Korea.

20:01And it doesn't matter where you stand on the politics in South Korea. The anti-China sentiment is quite broad here. I mean, it is a very strong and powerful country that is, you know, direct neighbor of South Korea with a very different political system. You know, there's bound to be some friction there. And now we're seeing these anti-China protests with very sharp language taking place every Saturday, where these protesters, usually from the far right wing of the South Korean politics, yelling at people on the street, saying, let's deport the Chinese. They will even talk to people on the street trying to see their ID to ask if they're South Korean or Chinese national.

20:42And what is most concerning is that this anti-China sentiment is being exploited to peddle these conspiracy theories about how Chinese are coming to displace South Koreans and stealing elections and they're bringing crime. And they really become the target to blame all the ills of South Korean society. Now, the Japanese brewing giant Asahi says its production won't be back on track until February next year, after a cyber attack in late September brought many of its exports to a halt. It led to shortages of the best-selling super-dry beer.

21:21Asahi Group CEO Atsushi Katsuki told reporters in Tokyo that the company had not directly received any demands or threats and had not made any payments to hackers, but that it estimated more than 1.5 million customer details had been leaked. The company's also been forced to delay publishing its financial results. Our correspondent in Singapore, Nick Marsh, told me about the scale of the attack. According to Asahi, this was a big ransomware attack which took place at the end of September. So a ransomware attack is basically when hackers break into an organisation's systems and they demand a ransom.

21:59So money, basically. We don't have that many details in terms of where the payments were made or anything like that, who the exact victims were. We also don't really know who was behind it. That's not being confirmed. There was a group called Chilin that claimed responsibility. They'd been behind previous attacks. What we do know, though, is that this caused absolute havoc for Asahi. So they spent the best part of two months trying to contain the attack. They had to stop production at certain factories. And there's actually shortages of Super Dry, which is the most famous lager that Asahi produces.

22:32Probably the most famous beer to come out of Japan, I think you could argue. Production did resume fairly quickly. But Celia, for weeks afterwards, staff were using pen and paper and fax machines just to process the orders. So it's been really disruptive for one of Japan's real giant companies. Wow. So they really went back in time, I guess. And Asahi has also said that the hackers might have millions of its customers' details. Yes. One and a half million people affected. the majority of them were people who had contacted Asahi's customer service centres. But there's also the details potentially leaked of employees, not just current ones, former ones, and the families of those employees as well.

23:19So Asahi says it's been in touch with all of these affected people, but that is an awful lot of people to be affected from one cyber attack. Nick, you mentioned that Asahi is a big brand. Can you tell us a little bit more about the reaction to this cyber attack in Japan and beyond? Well, apart from the obvious fears around potential beer shortages, you're absolutely right. This is a really big company. Asahi supplies 40 % of all of Japan's beer domestically. But not just that. I mean, if you've been to Japan, you'll see it everywhere, right? They do soft drinks. They do food. You name it. Over in Europe, they even own beer brands like Peroni.

24:01And on the financial side of things, there's been disruption there too. So at the end of the year, Asahi is supposed to produce its financial results. The chief executive of the company has already come out and said, look, we're not going to be able to hit that deadline. You've got about 45, 50 days after the financial year ends to publish those results. They're not going to be able to do it on time precisely because of this disruption. And he says that a short term impact is unavoidable and you can understand why. Nick Marsh. Now, to finish, the story of two Australian teenagers, 15-year-olds Macy Nayland and Noah Jones, who've launched a legal action challenging their government's decision to ban some social media sites for under-16s.

24:44The ban on platforms such as TikTok and YouTube is due to come into effect next month. Its rollout is being closely watched across the world. The Australian government says it's trying to protect youngsters from harmful material. But the teenagers, backed by a campaign group, say it's an infringement on their rights. They spoke to my colleague Tim Franks. Macy began by explaining why she decided to take action. I'm against this ban because I do strongly believe that there are problems with social media, gaming and screen time in general. However, there is also so much good, you know, education, socialising, and rather than a blanket ban, I think it's beneficial if we set implications, as this case that we are fighting for is emphasising the constitutional rights of young Australians to discuss politics.

25:41And this ban, however, completely removes an entire age group from engaging in our modern way of communicating politically. Noah, do you feel similarly? Yes, I do. I feel that it's just isolating us from the world and the community around us. It's basically making us invisible and we won't be able to share our opinions or views and we won't be able to hear opinions or views. And Noah, just give me a sense of how you use social media at the moment to do that. I use Snapchat for, I'd say, more communication with my friends, but I use Instagram for politic updates, news, and I find it quite helpful to make decisions, and it's making me think about who I'll be voting for in the future or what I think about, say, the social media ban.

26:37It just helps me build my views on things. Macy, I'm sure you're aware that along with the good side of social media that you've talked about, and you've mentioned in particular political engagement. I mean, there is a downside to social media. There are real harms associated with it and harms that can be particularly pernicious with young people. What's your response to that argument? I completely agree there should be restrictions on social media. For example, time limits, age-appropriate content and emphasis on these apps to remove all harmful content. Do you have any faith in the social media companies that they might actually do that if they're told to do that?

27:29Yes, 100%. And Noah, what about you? I mean, do you think that there should be any age limit on social media? I don't. And I also think that you said that there's bad sides to social media, which I definitely agree with. but if you think about it kids are going to find ways around it and they're going to find a different platform that's probably more unsafe and then when kids are secretive about things that's when it becomes even more risky if they can't tell police or parents about something they're doing because they weren't supposed to be on the platforms in the first place you know teenagers they're going to get around it they're going to try not do what they're told but that's just going to put them in a more risky position later on.