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25:21And while a lot of the claims are unproven, students were angered by the fact that the university didn't take any action. Now, as you mentioned, the university says that these are misleading rumors, that in fact, they're claiming these are false allegations to tarnish the university's reputation. But even so, students, angered by the fact there was no action by the university at all, ended up protesting both on Saturday and Sunday. They lit fires, they stormed university property. They clashed with police. They even blocked a major highway. That's why classes were suspended for 10 days. When I spoke to police earlier today, they said the situation is very calm now.

26:01None of their officers are deployed because of the fact that a lot of students have gone back given that 10-day suspension. But whether the claims are true or not, and according to police right now, they haven't been able to verify the identity of the alleged victim, nor have they found any evidence after examining CCTV footage near the hostel. Whether these allegations are true or not, it's tapped into real anger amongst students across India about the fact that many women don't feel safe on their campuses or in their cities. And even earlier today, I attended a protest, one of multiple protests in the capital here in Delhi, about women's safety on university campuses because there have been a string of sexual assaults and alleged rapes that have made national headlines here.

26:50And so people say despite years of reforms and different initiatives, they haven't made a difference in women's own experiences out on the streets. Yeah, I mean, Azadeh, it's some 15 years since I covered the protests after that gang rape of Nirabaya. And of course, again, as you say, these allegations have been denied, but it does tap into this wider issue about the strength of feeling on issues now. You've covered those recent cockroach protests as well. It does, though the cockroach protests were about the government as well as exam leaks. The case that you're talking about was a watershed moment in 2012, the gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old woman on a bus in Delhi.

27:32And there have been reforms since then. and there have been harsher punishments for those who are convicted of rape crimes. But it's more than a decade later and there are still horrific cases that make headlines. Tens of thousands of rapes and sexual assaults are still reported every year and the conviction rates are less than 30%. That's why people are still protesting. And certainly right now that anger is being voiced by students across India. Azadeh Mishiri, great to have you on News Hour. Thank you for that update.

28:11You're listening to NewsHour from the BBC World Service. I'm Rajini Vaidyanathan. Here in the UK, police are continuing to question five men arrested on terror charges close to a military base in the west of England. RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire is also used by the US Air Force to launch attacks on Iran. Well, Tehran has categorically rejected any involvement over what is described as malicious speculation. We'll get into that in a moment, but first let's go over what we know. Well, on Sunday morning, a major police operation was launched close to the site. It appears the arrests were made after a tip-off from a member of the public, a farmer, who called police after she saw suspicious activity.

28:55Well, the BBC has spoken to her about what she witnessed. she wanted to remain anonymous so her words had been revoiced by a producer. I was coming home late from a party. On reaching our farm I found both the driveway and the road blocked by three white vans. We were aware that RAF Fairford was operating at a high security level and that civilian staff had been evacuated. We had noticed some activity from what I assumed were plain clothed police officers for the previous few days so initially I thought perhaps this was more of the same. I had no choice but to turn my vehicle around and return back the way I came.

29:33On driving a short distance from the vans, I saw a large group of hooded and masked men. When they saw me, they ran ahead of me, some into the field and some towards the neighbouring village of Kempsford. I then realised that something highly unusual was taking place. At 1.36am, I called 999 to report what I'd seen. Within 10 minutes, the village was full of armed police. And I believe that my 999 call foiled whatever plans they had. My impression was that they were fit and young. They were all wearing similar dark clothes. I'm just really keen to highlight that it appears someone really dropped the ball on this.

30:13Well, after that call to the police, and of course, those arrests later on Sunday, President Trump claimed that the US and UK authorities had in fact been working together to monitor a potential plot on the base. Working with Britain, it was an amazing job. We had them under investigation. They were looking to do big damage to our fort. And working with the British worked out great. It may have been Scotland Yard. I don't know. We worked with a lot of them. We had them under view for a long time and we got them. Let's hear from the British that he mentions there because this morning the UK Home Secretary, Wes Streeting, spoke to the BBC.

30:52I can this morning confidently say two things. Firstly, to that member of the public, thank you, because she did in an extraordinary situation what we ask members of the public to do, which is if you see something suspicious, to act quickly. And she did. And we thank her for that. Secondly, and respectfully to her, I would say that she had a partial picture. And I also want to say this morning in that spirit, an enormous thank you to our police, to our counter-terrorism police, to our security services, for the work they did in this situation to contain this. As we heard from the President of the United States, extraordinary people with extraordinary capability.

31:33And that's all I want to say this morning on that. That's the UK Home Secretary, Wes Streeting there. Well, I'm joined now in the studio by our security correspondent, Frank Gardner. Frank, we'll come to what we heard from the witness and the president in a moment. But first of all, we have had a bit more of an update on these five suspects. What more do we know? Yeah, so in the last couple of hours, there's been a statement put out by what's called Counterterrorism Policing, CTP, which is obviously an arm of British law enforcement. And they have said that all five of those arrested are from London.

32:07They are all UK nationals and they are all aged between 23 and 25. They're from different parts of London, from North London and Northwest London. They're not giving out any more than that. Now, inevitably, the speculation in this country is turning to who could have been behind this, who sent them, what plot was this, a Russian plot, was it an Iranian one, was it jihadists? The Iranian embassy has responded to all of this speculation, even though the UK government has not formally accused them, or at least if they have, they haven't done it publicly. they've responded by taking to X the platform formerly known as Twitter to say we are nothing to do with these people and we want to remind you that we will take an illegal action against anybody who accuses us of having anything to do with them.

33:00And Frank there seems to be a bit of a contradiction in what we played earlier because you have this farmer saying that she raised the alarm and that she saw all of this then you have the US president saying no we knew about this we've been working together. What do you make of all of that? Well, I know who I believe. It's the farmer. I mean, her account is utterly credible. And that woman deserves a medal. And I should say that the MOD police should, that's the Ministry of Defence Police, should hang their heads in shame for not answering that phone call. It's only, I mean, plenty of other people at one o 'clock in the morning would have thought, oh, well, I'll leave it to the morning.

33:36But she persevered and she did the right thing and called the emergency number 999, equivalent to 911 in the States. The only way I can see that sort of you could square this circle is that there was clearly some kind of raised security alert for that base, RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, where US personnel are based, that had been in place for some days, for three or four days. So there was a heightened alert there. Now, clearly, maybe it was an exercise, maybe some bit of intelligence, some bit of snippet had been picked up by US intelligence. But the idea that these five men who were arrested had been under surveillance for a long time is not true.

34:24This was not an intelligence led operation. What is an intelligence led operation? That is where MI5, Britain's equivalent to the FBI, would be aware of a number of individuals. It would tap their phones, their cars. It would have them under surveillance. It'd have rotating teams of trackers, of watchers. Nothing like that applies in this case. This appears to be pure luck that this woman was able to spot them and did the very good citizenship thing she did. all praise to the police response who pounced really quickly. And that was good. They caught them, they arrested them, and they are being investigated now.

35:13They can be held for another 13, 12 or 13 days. Just very briefly, Frank, we know that there are five people being questioned. Is there a sense there could be a wider network? Well, one of the other inconsistencies in all of this, Ruchini, is that the same farmer that we just heard from said she is convinced that she saw eight to 10 men, not five. Now, the government is saying, no, no, we've got this lockdown. We've got everybody. It's contained. So unless there are three to five more people somewhere being held that we don't know about, which I think is unlikely that we don't really do that kind of thing in this country, then there is a discrepancy here, for sure.

35:59And, you know, I just, I'm not sure that the sort of, I think I trust sort of local eyewitnesses almost more than I do the authorities at the moment on this one. Okay, lots of contradictions, aren't there, Frank? And of course, more will hopefully be revealed. That's our security correspondent, Frank Gardner, joining me in the studio. Now, nearly a decade after the assassination of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, Malta is still grappling with the questions her murders raised. In the wake of a landmark verdict in the high-profile case in which a wealthy businessman, Jorgen Fenwick, was acquitted of conspiracy and complicity in her killing, charges which he denied.

36:40Our correspondent, Anna Holligan, visited the island to examine the reaction it's triggered and the question that still divides the EU's smallest nation.

36:54Outside the court where the trial was held, hundreds of protesters have gathered.

37:03When Daphne died, that was the biggest shock and since then it's just been shock after shock after shock. If we don't stand up and fight and shout and scream, then nothing's going to change.

37:17Daphne lived at home with her husband and three sons here behind me in the rural hamlet of Bidnia. It was just before 3pm on the 16th of October 2017. She was driving down this road and less than a minute into the journey a powerful car bomb was detonated. Although five people were convicted for their roles in her murder, no one has been found guilty of commissioning her assassination. her family are still in the pursuit of justice. My mum would have just loved a garden like this. It must be your pride and joy now. One of her three sons, Matthew, still lives in the family home. Part of our fight is to get the Maltese government to develop more tools so that it is not as helpless as it has always been in the face of organised crime.

38:09Do you fear for your safety? Yes, I do. I live with that fear. Not far from the heart of the capital, Valletta, down at the marina, a reminder that this Mediterranean island enjoys a wealth of visitors. Super yachts jostle with small wooden taxi boats for space in the dock. Over the past decade, Malta has experienced extraordinary economic growth. International companies have been drawn here by access to the EU market, a favourable tax regime and a business-friendly environment. In her reporting, Daphne Caruana Galizia argued this same system created vulnerabilities that enabled corruption. When Daphne Caruana Galizia was killed, she was pursuing four major corruption investigations linked to money, power and influence in Malta.

39:06Daphne was a very divisive figure. Herman Gretsch is the editor of the Malta Times. You either loved Daphne or you hated Daphne. And I've rarely seen a writer cause so much entrenchment in society. There was no filter. What's at stake for Malta if the mastermind is never brought to justice? I fear this country will never rest. A new European fact-finding mission is preparing to meet the Maltese government. Shami Chakrabarti is the Council of Europe's special rapporteur, overseeing the Daphne Caruana Galizia case. There are concerns really about the strength and health of the rule of law itself in Malta.

39:45Malta's attorney general has appealed against the acquittal of Jürgen Fennec, claiming the verdict represents a miscarriage of justice. Jason Azapardi is one of the Caruana Galizia family lawyers. A journalist was assassinated because of her work. And when the state finally put somebody on trial for alleged complicity in that assassination, the integrity of the trial must be beyond question. Nothing less will do. Jürgen Fennec has denied the charges. We reached out to the Maltese government, but they declined to comment. The Prime Minister has said that Malta has made continued and improving progress in meeting the Council of Europe's recommendations.

40:26Daphne famously warned that the country was trapped in an inescapable culture clash between those who tolerated the status quo and those who fought to dismantle it. Nearly a decade after her assassination, the division she documented remains as palpable as ever. Perhaps the BBC's Anna Holligan reporting there from Malta. You're listening to the BBC World Service and this is NewsHour.

41:10This is Rajini Vaidynarvan with NewsHour, coming to you live from the BBC in London. It's estimated that around 8 ,500 North Korean soldiers are fighting in Ukraine in support of Russia's military. Early last year, two of them were captured by Ukrainian forces and recently sent to South Korea. But the transfer was kept secret until Ukraine's President Vladimir Zelensky went public at the UN last week. These guys are not easy to capture alive. One of them, when he realised he was going to be taken prisoner, tried to kill himself. And he was shocked that fate didn't let him die. Well, now South Korea's calling on President Zelensky to apologise for going public, accusing Ukraine of violating a non-disclosure agreement.

42:02South Korea's been a supporter of Ukraine, pledging$100 million worth of assistance. So what are the consequences of this diplomatic spat? Rafael Rashid's a Seoul-based freelance journalist. He began by telling me more about the reaction from South Korea. From South Korea's point of view, they might have wanted to keep this quiet because these men must have families back in North Korea who could be punished if the regime knows that they were sent to South Korea. And also Pyongyang has turned its soldiers in Russia into heroes, and they kind of expect the North Korean prisoners to kill themselves if they're captured.

42:43But if two of them are sent to Seoul, then that kind of undercuts the narrative. And at the moment, the president of South Korea is trying to restart talks with North Korea. So maybe Seoul didn't want to make a show of this and keep it quiet for the time being. And this has now created tensions between Ukraine and South Korea at the very highest level. You've got the president calling for Mr. Zelensky to apologise. How would you characterise the relationship between the two countries and how much damage could this latest episode do? I think the language that the two sides have been using is, I mean, at least from the South Korean side, is highly unusual.

43:24And South Korea and Ukraine maintain friendly relations. And I think they're meant to be on the same side in all of this. Seoul has condemned Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine, has joined sanctions and has also recently pledged a$100 million support package to Kiev. In less than a week, we see President Li saying that he was very disappointed, accusing Ukraine of falsehoods because Ukraine said there was no arrangement and demanding an official apology. And now just in the last few hours, we've had the foreign ministry here in Seoul. They've gone further and they've summoned Ukraine's top diplomat in Seoul.

44:07So I think it's very rare for South Korea to publicly accuse a friendly government of lying. And I think part of the reason for all of this is politics at home. This comes at a time when his approval ratings are already extremely very low. Where does this go next? I mean, I think because South Korea is determined to retrieve an apology from Ukraine, I think Ukraine will have no choice but to give them what they want. Because at the end of the day, Kiev is keen on getting certain kind of weapons and interceptors and whatnot from South Korea, which is known for being a top exporter of weapons around the world.

44:50It has not provided any lethal weapons to Ukraine because it is trying to balance its relations with all sides. But I'm pretty sure that Kiev will want to maintain a good relation. So I'm guessing we will have some form of apology and hopefully this episode will disappear soon enough. That's Rafael Rashid there, a Seoul-based freelance journalist. Now, it's one of the world's most iconic highways, a bucket list journey for many. And in a few months from now, America's Route 66 celebrates its 100th birthday. But a century after it first captured America's imagination, does the highway known as the Mother Road still have the same draw?

45:37Victoria Craig has been heading west across the United States to discover with a nostalgia still drawing tourists and their dollars to towns along the route. Route 66 is a 2 ,500-mile stretch of concrete and pavement that runs from the bustling metropolis of Chicago, Illinois, all the way to the sandy west coast shores of Santa Monica, California. Our first stop is in Cuba, Missouri and the Wagon Wheel Hotel. Hi, welcome to the Wagon Wheel. It's been operating here for more than 90 years. It's where we meet Roman Rich Dinkola, a lifelong Route 66 enthusiast. He bought this historic Mother Road property, which is his second in April this year.

46:22This place represents so much. You've got the Ozark stone cottages, and people can come here. They can get a glimpse of what it was like in the 30s and 40s. Do you worry if there isn't more awareness raised, particularly for younger generations, who will eventually be the ones staying in this motel and others? I've been extremely worried about the Centennial, that we're going to see a lot of bad decisions, and we have. Several hours west in Clinton, Oklahoma, there's been a boom in visitors to the city's Route 66 museum. The Centennial gives us an opportunity to put our story back into a national conversation.

47:04That's museum director Corey Cart. It allows us to have a platform to talk about, just like we're doing now, the economic impact on communities. For instance, sales in our gift shop are up over 300 percent. We're also celebrating America's 250th. That's actually playing more into a lot of our visitors. And that is giving us a chance to tell the story to audiences that before have never considered Route 66. Indeed, Oklahoma's relationship to the Mother Road runs deep. Texas, Kansas, and other states look like moonscape after huge dark clouds of dust swept across fields and towns. During the depths of the Great Depression in the 1930s, an environmental disaster known as the Dust Bowl swept through America's southern plains.

47:54Tenant farmers pushed deep into poverty by severe drought and rapid agricultural modernization were forced off their land. Many of them went west along Route 66, searching for a better life in California. But they faced bitter class prejudice and hostility every step of the way. The early days of Route 66 are not a fun story. Where people really want to talk about it is that post-war, that open road represented freedom. And Route 66, it just kept reinventing itself. So how important now is Route 66 to Clinton's economy, would you say? If you look at the amount of restaurants and gift shops and things here in town that are either named after Route 66 or sell Route 66 souvenirs, it is a huge part of it.

48:41Lightning McQueen, the famous race car. We love you, Lightning! Pixar's 2006 animated hit Cars captured the nostalgia of the 1950s-era road trip culture for a new generation. Radiator Springs, where most of the Cars movie is set, is a fictional city, but it's based on many Route 66 towns like Seligman, Arizona. The reason there's even a town for her to visit is all thanks to one man, 99-year-old Angel Delgadillo, who is widely credited with saving the town from being quite literally wiped off the map after the interstate's introduction in the 80s. At about 2.30 in the afternoon, the town died.

49:25For 10 long years, you don't know what it is to be forgotten. It got difficult to put beans on the table. I had an idea of how to get the economy back, and that was to ask the state leaders just simply to make Route 66 historic from the 17 miles east of Seligman, exit 139, to the Arizona-California border. I discussed it with all my customers that would come in. I'd talk about it. It won't work. Nobody believed in it. No one believed me. It won't work. Why? We had to fight the government, and you're not going to win. Research from the National Travel Center organization shows the power of heritage tourism.

50:14It found that secondary roads like Route 66, if promoted, can drive up to$450 ,000 in visitor spending per mile each year. That's around$280 ,000 per kilometre. Though for remote stretches of road, capturing even a fraction of that is still a constant battle. That's Victoria Craig there on her route along Route 66. That ends this edition of NewsHour. Thanks to all of you for listening.

50:48What's it like to see an El Nino on the horizon? I'm Tristan Redmond, one of the hosts of the Global Story podcast from the BBC. And on today's show, we speak to a climate scientist who's worked for the US government predicting extreme weather events, like this year's El Nino. Of course I'm worried, because I know these extremes impact people, and you can't not be worried about that. What does he see coming? Search for The Global Story on bbc.com or wherever you get your podcasts.