US launches fresh attacks on Iran

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1:46The head of FIFA, Gianni Infantino, has defended the organisation of the Football World Cup on the eve of the opening ceremony. Rioters clashed with police for a second night near a migrant hotel in Northern Ireland. Also in this podcast... I was foolish to spend time with him. I was one of many people who regret ever knowing him. Bill Gates is grilled by US lawmakers over his connections with the dead sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

2:19The U.S. military has carried out a wave of fresh strikes on Iran after President Trump said American forces would hit the country hard. U.S. Central Command said the attacks had targeted military surveillance capabilities, communications systems and air defense sites across Iran. Both sides have been exchanging fire this week after the downing of a U.S. helicopter on Monday. Hours before the latest strikes, President Trump accused Tehran of taking too long to sign a peace deal, while the Iranian foreign ministry accused the US of damaging the diplomatic process through contradictory messages.

2:57Mr Trump's position was echoed by his defence secretary, Pete Hegseth. As President Trump said, they've been tap, tap, tapping. You can see when someone's trying to tap, tap, tap on a deal. Instead, they're going to have tap, tap, tap bombs dropping on key facilities in Iran from the United States of America. And that's not because we want to restart anything. We don't have to restart. It's because we are the War Department is prepared to set the terms to ensure that we get the kind of deal President Trump expects. Tehran says it responded to the latest attacks by launching strikes of its own and has declared the Strait of Hormuz completely closed to all vessels following the U.S.

3:36strikes. The latest tit-for-tat attacks leave the fragile ceasefire that's been in place since early April hanging in the balance. I heard more from our correspondent in Washington, Thomas Morgan. Well, you mentioned that the US say that they've concluded their attacks, but we understand that the IRGC, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, have responded by attacking US bases in Kuwait and Bahrain, describing it as punishment for the attacks early in the evening in southern attack. Now, the US Central Command said the strikes tonight were due to the unwarranted and continued aggression shown by Iran.

4:13As I mentioned, they were striking areas in the southern area of the country near the Strait of Hormuz, targeting coastal posts and police command, but also areas around Tehran as well, really. You heard a clip there from Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth. He also said that if they needed to negotiate with bombs, they would negotiate with bombs, the US, and that's certainly what has happened tonight. I think we're in this constant state of back and forth, really, not only in terms of who shoots first, but also a war of words, especially on social media. Who did attack first? Who hasn't attacked? I mean, earlier this evening, Iran had said that they'd attacked a US warship and the Strait of Hamil was completely closed.

4:58Then the US Central Command issued posts on social media saying that, in fact, none of their warships had been fired upon and the Strait was open to commercial ships as long as they weren't going in and out of Iran, clearly trying to posture and say, look, we are in control here. I think in reality, you know, the US are desperate for a deal to be done. President Trump is desperate for a deal to be signed, a peace agreement. He keeps saying that that deal is close, but the evidence doesn't seem to show as much really as these violent escalations keep happening every night since Monday. I think the question for Donald Trump is how long is he going to continue like this?

5:42Well, he might have to continue until the Iranians give in and they certainly haven't shown any sign of that. But the pressure is on him because not only in terms of, you know, trying to make sure that he can step up to Iran, but also at home here. The cost of living is rising at its fastest rate here in three years. Gas prices are high and opinion polls are suggesting that large swathes of the population in the US agree that this conflict has not been a good thing. You mentioned the straighter form moves. Is it open? Is it closed? And also the president's talk of a secret mission to ferry millions of barrels of oil out past Iran.

6:23Yeah, he kind of mentioned this almost in passing and then put a post out on Truth Social earlier today, kind of declaring, oh, this is amazing. I need to let everyone know what we've done. I instructed my military to secretly get 100 million barrels of oil out and they've done that. This is great for the economy. This is great for the world. because we are able to get gas prices level again. The reality is that amount of oil would only be enough to sustain the world for one day. And it's difficult to verify whether or not that has actually happened or not. But I think, again, it comes back to the pressure, perhaps, that Donald Trump is under here in the US, although he doesn't seem to be showing any signs of it, that really inflation is high, gas prices are high, and he wants to show some positivity from this conflict.

7:15Thomas Morgan. The biggest men's football World Cup in history kicks off on Thursday. 48 teams are taking part in the tournament across the US, Canada and Mexico. But the build-up has been shrouded in controversy. It's organised by football's world governing body, FIFA. On Wednesday, its president, Gianni Infantino, defended his handling of controversies, including FIFA revoking the ticket allocation for Iranian fans, high ticket prices, and the US denying entry to the Somali referee Omar Artan had been due to officiated games. He was barred from entering the United States despite having a diplomatic passport and visa.

7:58Our sports editor, Dan Rowan, is in Mexico as it prepares to host the first match of the tournament, South Africa against Mexico. It's a country where football is part of the national identity. Mexico's gearing up to play host to the World Cup finals for a record third time. But for many here, the prospect of attending Thursday's match is a distant one. That was a dream that I had from my childhood. Janice followed her team to the last World Cup in Qatar four years ago. But here, in her own home city, it's proved impossible. Come on, the prices are insane. Insane. I can tell you it's not affordable for all the Mexican population.

8:42We have people that cannot afford even$1 ,000 tickets. It's sad and I would say frustrating because it's our World Cup. But the record costs facing fans are not the only issue. Despite FIFA cosying up to President Trump, a number of US visa controversies have overshadowed what was billed as a welcoming event. Africa's top referee, Omar Artan, barred from entering the US and sent back to his home country of Somalia. FIFA supported me throughout my ordeal, all the way until my return journey home, and God willing, I'll take part in the next World Cup. I urge my fellow Somali citizens not to be disheartened by this.

9:24We should all be proud of who we are, and we should all be proud to be Somali. The US government says Artan was barred over an association with suspected terrorists, and tonight the sport's most powerful figure had his say. Of course it is unfortunate what happened to Omar, but again we don't control everything. Believe me when I tell you, or don't believe me if you don't want, but we try always to find solutions. But then we need to respect that we are not the kings of the world who can rule over governments and police forces. Meanwhile, here at the Azteca, final preparations ahead of the tournament curtain raiser.

10:02This iconic stadium is set to make history, becoming the first to host the opening match of three separate World Cup finals. But this expanded, sprawling tournament is unprecedented in other ways too. It features 48 teams across three countries, but as well as being the biggest and the most lucrative for FIFA, it could just be the most political. 32 years after the US first played host, this tournament is expected to fuel the growth of the game, although as then, extreme heat could feature. The World Cup has provided some of sport's most captivating moments, and organisers will be hoping that once the action starts, the focus shifts onto the stars of football's greatest show.

10:52Dan Rowan in Mexico City. What was Bill Gates' relationship with the dead sex offender Jeffrey Epstein? That is what the members of a congressional committee in Washington wanted to ask the billionaire Microsoft founder, who arrived on Capitol Hill for questioning on Wednesday. I'm glad to be here voluntarily to testify to help with the committee's work. I'll start with an opening statement in the hearing room. I hope my testimony is helpful to the important work of the committee to find justice for the victims. Mr Gates, one of the world's richest men, was appearing before the House Oversight Committee.

11:34Charlotte Gallagher asked our North America correspondent, Bernd de Boosman, what else Mr Gates had said. He certainly at least appeared apologetic in that opening statement. He said he believes he should have never met Epstein in the first place, but that he never witnessed any sort of criminal conduct or saw any of the victimizations that we now know that Epstein was involved with. There's been a lot of questions about Gates's relationship with him, which began well after Epstein had already been convicted of crimes. But he has kind of framed that and he was trying to connect with a man who thought could kind of further the work of his foundation, potentially connect him with potential donors.

12:14Now, there's been a lot of kind of explosive information that's come out in the last few months about that relationship. Gates has acknowledged, for example, that Epstein was aware of infidelity in his marriage, which he's acknowledged, and was kind of using it to put pressure on him personally. But, of course, there's some very tense questions in the Epstein files. There's photographs of Gates with an unidentified woman and drafts with various allegations about Mr. Gates, for example, that he had caught an STI from a woman, something that Gates has denied. But certainly there is enough questions about that relationship to have made the meeting really quite tense.

12:52And who's on the committee and what is their remit? The committee has 47 members, 26 of whom are Republicans and 21 of whom are Democrats. The House resolution, which started all these hearings, directed it to look specifically into how the government handled the Epstein case, how it was managed and how the files were released. Of course, they were legally mandated to release those files, but there's been quite a lot of controversy at that. But also, importantly, it was about looking into Epstein's associates and what figures were connected with him, including several high profile ones. The committee doesn't necessarily get along with each other.

13:27It's chaired by a Republican, James Comer, and the ranking Democrat is Robert Garcia. And the two have clashed really quite publicly over the pace of the investigation and the disclosures. Garcia in particular has been pushing for it to be much more aggressive. Bill Gates denying any wrongdoing. But of course, there is reputational damage even appearing at one of these hearings and being linked to Jeffrey Epstein. There is. It's really been quite uncomfortable to be even mentioned in these hearings, let alone appear in them. Howard Lutnick, for example, the sitting commerce secretary, was quite politically damaged, even though he remains in office, by having to come and answer for the timeline of his relationship with Epstein.

14:07Democrats accused him of dodging questions. The Clintons as well. Bill Clinton became the first former president to be compelled to testify before Congress. Really, there's been very little to come of it. There's been no criminal charges that have stemmed from it. It's mostly been enormous media coverage, but this is the sort of media coverage that no one, certainly not these public figures, will want to be having. Bernd de Buysman. Still to come in this podcast. We are all the living stones of this edifice, which has Christ as its foundation. The Pope's blessing of the Sagrada Familia's highest tower draws thousands of people in Barcelona.

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15:53Getting started is easy. Just order a starter kit, fill the bags, send them back for free, and Ridwell takes care of the rest. Start today at ridwell.com. I'm Kai Wright. I'm Carter Sherman. Welcome to Stateside with Kai and Carter. We're a new show from The Guardian. We're talking to big thinkers and the best journalists, just trying to understand the world through smart conversation and honest reporting. We don't have billionaires telling us what to say. Stateside with Kyan Carter will come out three times a week, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, starting May 13th. Subscribe on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.

16:34This is the Global News Podcast. Running battles between police and rioters in Belfast are usually associated with the troubles in Northern Ireland, the violence between Protestant and Catholic communities. But immigration was the spark for the current wave. The unrest was triggered by the stabbing in Belfast of Stephen Ogilvie, who lost his left eye when he was attacked. Hadi Al-Odid, originally from Sudan, has been charged with attempted murder. Though Mr Ogilvie's family said the attack should not be used to divide people or fuel hostility, their plea for calm hasn't stopped the unrest. It wasn't as widespread as Tuesday night, but the events have nevertheless been distressing for these people in Belfast.

17:19There's a terrible hush over the whole Senate. It is very depressing. It is very sad. What happened to that poor man was absolutely disgusting. But what's going on now, there's absolutely no need for it whatsoever. It's terrible. Terrible atmosphere. So I don't know what's going on. The buses and all are off. Scary. Yeah, bizarre. It's just happening and the whole city shuts down. It reminds me of the bad old days, you know, in a sense. The conflict in Northern Ireland. Well, yeah, just these sort of things happened back then. Shops closed early, people were going home early. There were frightening scenes on Tuesday when one street was targeted.

17:57Rioters went from door to door, smashing windows and setting fire to houses. Toazul Mohamed has been helping women and children from migrant families seek shelter away from their homes, which they fear could come under attack. She says that around 150 people are now in a church building and they remain very frightened. We went into the houses and evacuated the families because we were on the phone with the families and they were terrified and they were knocking themselves in the bathroom. Because petrol bombs were thrown into the houses, we had to go in and evacuate them. And most of the families were Sudanese.

18:34They were terrified. Kids were crying. Women were crying. These are people who recently fled the war in Sudan too. They are seeing the same things again and living the same cities. For more on Wednesday night's disturbances, I spoke to our correspondent, Dan Johnson, who was close to the violence in Belfast. There has been some further disorder on the streets of Belfast this evening. Not in the same places, not to the same degree, but certainly another challenge for the police. They were on the streets in greater number this evening and kitted up, ready to deal with more serious rioting. We saw officers in full riot gear and with more armoured Land Rovers out on the streets, even before anybody really had the chance to gather.

19:22So I think the message from the police service of Northern Ireland was that they would be firm tonight and that there would be no tolerance of the sort of damage and disorder that we saw the night before when homes were torched and people's lives were literally at risk. But still, in the north of Belfast, we saw a crowd of a few hundred gathering. The word was that they were going to try to approach a hotel that's been used recently to house asylum seekers and migrants. Now, the lines of police officers in riot gear managed to stop that crowd reaching that hotel. But there was a battle on the streets for a few hours with lines of police reinforcements being pelted with stones and bricks and planks of wood that these demonstrators had ripped from people's gardens and fences.

20:09There were burning barricades in the streets. and to get that crowd back, to get them to move back, the police had to bring in more armoured Land Rovers and water cannon and the crowd was sprayed repeatedly with the water cannon, with officers coming on the sustained barrage of bricks and stones. It took a while for the police to actually get that crowd to move back. They did actually set fire to a property, but we're told that's a house that had been abandoned. You've been to see some of the places that were damaged on the first night? Yes, absolutely. Before we got into the evening here, the daytime across Belfast had been about assessing the damage from the night before and looking at what was necessary in terms of clear up.

20:58There were wrecked cars in the streets, the burned out ruins of a bus that had been set on fire the night before, and the homes that had been torched deliberately by people in this crowd who were seeking to pick out homes belonging to refugees or asylum seekers. They had their windows smashed, the doors were kicked in, and then some of those homes were deliberately set alight. And those demonstrators, those rioters, seemed to have very little regard to actually who was in that house. We know there were families who were sheltering upstairs as their house was starting to burn. Some families who weren't even asylum seekers or refugees, they just happened to live next door, who had their homes torched.

21:39We saw police officers having to shelter people with their riot shields to actually get them through the burning barricades to safety. So there was a real threat to life. People have been telling us, they've been afraid to speak because they fear reprisals, but they've been telling us quietly that they don't want this to be a symbol of Northern Ireland. They've wanted to say that, look, people are welcome here, that we recognise the contribution of migrants. Dan Johnson in Belfast. Nigeria is repatriating the first group of its citizens from South Africa following weeks of protests and attacks on illegal migrants across the country.

22:16Several other African countries have said they will also offer their citizens the option to travel back home. The BBC's Mayone Jones reports from Johannesburg. The first group of Nigerians that are being repatriated are leaving from Johannesburg's Oatambo Airport tonight. The authorities say that they want to give them the opportunity to go back home free of charge, that they will cover the cost of being repatriated, and they will make sure that once they get home, some arrangements are made to help them settle in. One of the people flying explained why he was leaving. I'm leaving because of the condition they give us here in South Africa.

22:53They say we must leave before 38th and the way they are killing people, killing our brothers, I'm not safe. Nigeria is one of several African countries that's offered to repatriate its citizens. Others include Ghana, Malawi and Mozambique. And this comes at a time of increased protest against illegal migration here in South Africa. I spoke with Ambassador Mrs. Nikinawa Okewache, a Nigerian Consul General to South Africa, and this is what she had to say. You can't talk about unemployment and talk about migrants. The migrants, the percentage of migrants in South Africa, or let me say foreigners, it's like 7 % to 8%, thereabouts.

23:30They are not and cannot be the problem. Now that they're leaving, how many jobs are you getting? So migrants are basically being scapegoated. 7-8 % of the population cannot be the problem or cannot be blamed for broken systems in education, healthcare, policing, unemployment. South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the nation over the weekend. He says that they're implementing new measures to tackle illegal migration, including setting up special courts to make sure people can be deported rapidly and prosecuting employers who are found to be recruiting undocumented migrants. but he also cautioned South African citizens against taking justice into their own hands.

24:12Mayeni Jones. Tens of thousands of people gathered in Barcelona on Wednesday to mark the 100th anniversary of the death of the Catalan architect and designer, Antony Gaudi. The celebrations included a special mass by Pope Leo at Gaudi's masterpiece, the Sagrada Familia Basilica, which is the world's tallest church.

24:42The Pope blessed the recently completed Tower of Jesus Christ at 172.5 metres, the Sagrada Familia's highest spire, and lit a candle at the tomb of Antony Gaudi. This church is a single building made of many stones. a house that grows steadily over the years, following a single plan. We are all the living stones of this edifice, which has Christ as its foundation. Stephen Bergen, a freelance journalist in Spain, told James Menendez that the completion of the spire is a significant development for the Sagrada Familia and the city. I would be lying if I said there's been massive excitement about this.

25:36I think obviously everyone's, you know, a papal visit is a big event and it's been played up. I haven't felt that, you know, thousands and thousands of people have been flooding into the streets for it. There were about, for his short journey to the Sagrada Familia, there were about 70 ,000 people lining the short route, you know, which is impressive. But only a couple of weeks ago, 650 ,000 people turned out to salute the Barcelona Football Club for winning the league. This is not the most religious of cities, I would say. Well, it also says something about modern priorities, doesn't it? The Pope blessed the tower.

26:14I mean, that's the completion of one stage of the cathedral. I mean, this has been a real saga, hasn't it? Well, I think it's a major stage in terms of what you will see of the building, in terms of the skyline. It's reached its maximum height. The change has actually, I think, in the last few months been quite dramatic. You now see the Sagrada Familia from all sorts of points of the city where you perhaps didn't notice it before. So work in progress is probably at least another 10 years left to finish one of the facades. and there are other things to do. But I think, as, you know, somebody described it, you know, as the icon of the city, I think in that respect, it's complete.

26:54It's not getting any taller. Why is it considered the sort of pinnacle of Gaudí's work? Well, I suppose because that's what he felt. I mean, he made all sorts of extraordinary buildings, not only in Barcelona, although most of them are here, apartment buildings for wealthy people. But, you know, he was always very devout. and once he got going on this project, it became the thing that he devoted the last 15 years of his life to and he did very little other work and it was also on a scale that was quite different from building an apartment. Stephen Burgeon. And that's all from us for now. If you want to get in touch, you can email us at globalpodcast at bbc.co.uk.