Spain battles to contain one of its deadliest wildfires

24:42Chicago Talks. A lot. Hold on, let me step over here. People are talking too much. We debate about food, deep dish, tavern style, who's got the best beef. We yell across rooms, across blocks, across generations. Yes, nice earrings, Grammy. And now we're doing it on our phones, too. Video calls from the L train, group chats that never shut up. Neighbors texting you the score before your TV catches up. Come on! Get a load of this guy. Catch up on a dog. Yeah, we've got thoughts. Too loud? In Chicago, you're gonna hear it. Because nothing here gets built without conversation. Nothing moves without connection.

25:20So if you think you know AT &T, it might be time to rethink that. Because their network has improved, like, a lot. So Chicago can keep speaking its mind with AT &T Wireless and AT &T Fiber. Chicago won't stop talking. Our improved network backs it up. AT &T, connecting changes everything. AT &T Fiber, limited availability in select areas. Hi, I'm Simon Jack. I'm Zing Zing. And together we host Good Bad Billionaire, the podcast exploring how some of the wealthiest people on the planet made their money. And we are back with a new season from sporting superstars to music moguls and celebrity CEOs.

25:57We'll be taking a closer look at the lives and fortunes of some of the world's richest people and asking you to decide if they're good, bad or just another billionaire. Good Bad Billionaire from the BBC World Service. Listen now or search for Good Bad Billionaire wherever you get your BBC podcasts.

26:15Chicago talks a lot. Hold on. Let me step over here. People are talking too much. We debate about food, deep dish, tavern style. Who's got the best beef? We yell across rooms, across blocks, across generations. Yes, nice earrings, Grammy. And now we're doing it on our phones, too. Video calls from the L train, group chats that never shut up. Neighbors texting you the score before your TV catches up. Come on. Get a load of this guy. Catch up on a dog. Yeah, we've got thoughts. Too loud? In Chicago, you're gonna hear it. Because nothing here gets built without conversation. Nothing moves without connection.

26:53So if you think you know AT &T, it might be time to rethink that. Because their network has improved, like, a lot. So Chicago can keep speaking its mind with AT &T Wireless and AT &T Fiber. Chicago won't stop talking. Our improved network backs it up. AT &T, connecting changes everything. AT &T Fibre. Limited availability in select areas.

27:19Welcome back to NewsHour. Now, the US government has issued the first ever compensation payments to personnel affected by the so-called Havana Syndrome, the mysterious ailment reported by American diplomats in Cuba's capital. The US Department of Defense said it had dispersed nearly$3 million in compensation. We're joined now live by Dr Thomas Withington, who's an analyst with the defence think tank, the Royal United Services Institute, specialising in, he specialises in electronic warfare, radar and military communications. Dr Withington, what are the symptoms first of Havana syndrome broadly?

28:00Well, it's delightful to be with you this afternoon. In terms of the symptoms, there's a number that seem to be fairly common. Dizziness, nausea. In some cases, we've heard of things like nosebleeds, for instance. Acute, I think it would be fair to say, acute physiological discomfort is certainly the overriding one that most of the sufferers appear to have reported. And that appears to be how this syndrome sort of manifests itself, is these kind of very unpleasant physiological sensations, such as, as I said, headache, nausea, that kind of thing. It's all sort of shrouded in mystery, isn't it?

28:39I mean, are these weapons legal? Because there have been reports that some sort of sound weapon may have been used when President Maduro was captured in Venezuela earlier this year. Yeah. It's a very good question. I think what complicates this is that we know so little about the kind of weapons that are being used, assuming they are being used, of course. You mentioned the capture of Nicolas Maduro. We had these reports of a sonic weapon being used to aid that effort. Now, sonic weapons themselves are not new. Personally speaking, I've actually been in demonstrations where they've been used. And I can tell you they're particularly unpleasant.

29:19But my own very small and limited experience of that was not really, you know, I didn't feel any sort of nausea or I didn't have any kind of pronounced physiological symptoms. I just didn't want to be in the area where this thing was being activated. But of course, what we know in terms of what's happening in the public domain compared to what is happening in the military domain and classified space, obviously, that's a lot more mysterious. And by its very nature, it's much more difficult to get information about that. Yeah, now we call it Havana syndrome, but I mean, it's never really been proved exactly what happened to cause it, has it?

29:54Again, an excellent question. And you know, something I always think about is whenever something new comes out about Havana syndrome, such as the news we've had today concerning the compensation or reports we've had in the past, every time we get one of these reports, we get a vignette of information. in many ways, we just end up with even more questions that we need to ask. So we're getting more information that's coming out. But often, that is just sort of getting us deeper into the mysterious elements of this. Well, what's actually causing it? How could it be caused? Why do some people get symptoms, but other people don't?

30:28And it's really, really difficult to try and clear up those questions with any sort of definitive answers. Well, thank you for helping us understand it, at least. Thank you so much for joining us, I think from the south of France today. That's Dr Thomas Withington there from Rousie.

30:49You're listening to NewsHour Live from the BBC. I'm Rebecca Kesby. The Iranian regime has issued a written statement they say comes from the new Supreme Leader, Mojtabah Khamenei. In it, he pledges to avenge the killing of his father and predecessor, Ali Khamenei. The statement says the nation demands that the blood of the martyred leader and all the martyrs of those two wars by criminal disgraced perpetrators are avenged. That statement comes just hours after President Trump posted on social media that any assassination attempt against him would be met by the US military completely destroying all areas of Iran.

31:29Well, despite those angry words from both sides, peace talks are back on today in Oman. So what are the chances that they can be successful? I've been speaking to Professor Bader Al-Saif. He's assistant professor at Kuwait University. Well, Rebecca, we're in a conundrum and it speaks to the way that the MOU has come through. It was vague from the outset and it didn't really clarify how the Strait of Hormuz was going to open. We've been hearing different narratives from the Americans and the Iranians. The American side, along with the rest of the Gulf states, talk about the freedom of navigation, unimpeded rights for ships to come through and out of an international waterway.

32:13Whereas Iran wants to ensure that it keeps its leverage on the Strait of Hormuz I that it has exercised during the war and that it found quite lucrative for it. It has yielded some results. So we're having two competing objectives that don't coexist, that can't coexist together. And that's what's been the case. Now, the shipping hasn't been coordinated fully with Iran at some points, and that's been leading to Iran's objection. Whereas from the Omani side, they've been trying to propose a route that can ease some of the shipping concerns, especially given, if you remember, the whole mining of the Iranian part of the Hormuz, the Strait of Hormuz.

32:54So we're up into a deadline, by the way, within the MOU, which mentions the 30 day deadline when it comes to demining, which is, by the way, in a few days time. Right. So that could be the off ramp for the two sides to continue peacefully and to claim that the demining hasn't taken place. That could be one idea. But I think Oman will be playing a key role and it's the one to watch in the next hours and days. Yeah. Now, you mentioned the tolls effectively that Iran is keen to keep hold of. And Iran's Fars news agency has been reporting that there could be a plan that they will put forward in these talks to strike some sort of deal with the US that would allow the strait to effectively be managed between Oman and Iran, but basically tolling oil tankers going through.

33:43How would that idea go down with the rest of the region, like Kuwait, for example. I mean, is that something the Kuwaiti authorities would be happy to go along with, or do they want to see free trade as well? It goes beyond Kuwait, the Gulf states and the region, frankly, Rebecca, this is an issue that the international community needs to be very clear on. If we're going to start tolling and adding fees, this is going to only increase a very fragile economic downturn because of the war and because of the situation globally. I think where we need to go is be very clear on how we maintain the integrity of the waterways.

34:22And what Iran is trying to do by imposing that toll is trying to add another lever of pressure to ensure that its frozen assets are given up, given back to them, and to ensure that the sanctions regimen that's been on Iran for decades also dismantles. I think that's what's at play. We need to focus on all the issues that are designed around this conflict and how we can resolve them. And the financial component from the Iranian side needs to also be put on the table. Well, that's right. I mean, the reality of the situation can't be avoided by both sides. I mean, part of the reason the MOU came into being was because both sides wanted to end the war.

35:08But we've had all this talk getting ever more violent in the past few days. Trump declaring the ceasefire over. We've now had the new Supreme Leader effectively threatening Donald Trump with assassination. Is that the reality of the relationship or are there discussions behind the scenes that we're not hearing about? Look, we're fighting different wars at the same time. And the war of narratives did not dissipate or disappear throughout this whole war. from the outset and even prior. So that kind of rhetoric from both sides will continue. But I don't want to focus on that kind of rhetoric alone.

35:46We need to look at things on the ground. And rightly so, as you noted, both sides are keen on ending the conflict, but they want to end it on their own terms. And that's what's not been possible. And that's where the mediators need to come in and bridge the gaps. That's Beda Al-Saf, professor at Kuwait University, speaking to us a short time ago, we can now cross to speak to Bozo Daragahi, who's an Iranian-American journalist in Paris, monitoring developments in Iran. And first of all, Bozo, I wonder if you can tell us your reading of this, what seems like a rather threatening message from the new supreme leader today, pledging to avenge the killing of his father and indeed his wife.

36:31Yeah, I mean, He also said he couched it in religious terms and Quranic terms. He put it in the context of the themes of martyrdom in Shia Islam. And it was phrased as the duty of the nation to avenge what happened to his father and what happened to the country because of this sneak attack on Iran on February 28th. And so I think that that is important context to add to that. It wasn't like an operational command to take revenge right now. Right, understood. But nonetheless, the threatening language from both sides doesn't really bode well for peace talks, do they? But I wonder if there's other things going on behind the scenes, because some of the media in the US is reporting private messages, acknowledgement from Tehran that the attacks on the three oil tankers earlier this week, which led to President Trump saying the ceasefire was over and all the latest strikes, They're saying that Tehran has acknowledged that that was a mistake and they want them to acknowledge it publicly.

37:36Do you know anything about this? I don't know anything about that. And I would take that with a pinch of salt as well, because it is the Trump administration essentially leaking to CBS News that they were told this in private conversations. It just sounds very fishy. It could be that one of the mediators said, look, there is this regret on the part of the Iranians for what happened. Let's get back together. I just don't think that the Iranians are, the security forces are fractionalized to meet the narrative that the Trump administration portrayed of a rogue faction of the IRGC launching these attacks.

38:13That just does not square with reality. Yeah, so in terms of the reality, when this deal was made, as we were saying to the professor before, both sides were quite keen for it to end because it's not really in Iran's interest to continue with this war. and President Trump is desperate to end it before the midterm elections. Yeah, I think there is incentive on the side, on the part of both countries to end the conflict. There is an incentive on the part of Iran to end the conflict. But there are also very strong voices inside Iran who say that ending the conflict too early was a mistake. The U.S.

38:50and the world didn't suffer enough. Israel didn't get hit hard enough that it was a mistake, even a stab in the back for the negotiators to end the conflict and agree to this memorandum of understanding that is not worth the ink on the paper that it's written on. And so there is a lot of pressure on the part of Iranians to resume armed conflict, even if there is an incentive as well to end the armed conflict. Very good to speak to you. Thank you so much for joining us live there. That's Bozu Daraghahi there, an Iranian-American journalist currently in Paris monitoring developments there. Those peace talks, we understand, getting underway in Oman today.

39:40Now, here in the UK, there is profound shock across the political spectrum after the murder of a former government minister, Anne Widdecombe. Police have released a 26-year-old man who was arrested yesterday, saying he's no longer part of the investigation. As the investigation continues, the killing has horrified local people. Anne Widdecombe was 78 years old. She lived alone in an idyllic village in Devon, just on the edge of Dartmoor, which is a national park. And police aren't saying much about a possible motive. is not yet known whether it could have been a political motive. We're joined now live by our British politics correspondent, Rob Watson.

40:23First, Rob, the circumstances of this death and the investigation so far. Yes, well, the police have now said, Rebecca, that they believe that she was killed not on Thursday, as perhaps had originally been thought, because that was when the ambulance services discovered her body after they were alerted by a carer, and that's when the police were involved. But the police now say they believe that the attack happened, a brutal attack, around about Wednesday lunchtime, UK time. Now, they said they had released someone who they had thought had named as a suspect in the murder this morning. They say that they are still looking for someone.

41:01That person was 26 and white. And that is still the profile of the person they are looking for. They say that the investigation is proceeding at pace. That's the kind of language that the police always use. But, I mean, as of yet, no idea and no further arrests and no idea of motive whatsoever. I mean, Anne Whittacombe was a very well-known figure in politics for decades, really. She was a Conservative MP for many years and more recently associated with Nigel Farage's Reform Party. She did have very strong views, but, I mean, even people who didn't agree with her liked her personally. She did very well on TV shows.

41:41Yes, I mean, I guess that's what really brought her to the public's attention. She'd been a, what's the phrase, a robustly right-wing politician for many years, Rebecca. She was very much, to set her in context, she was socially conservative. She was against abortion. She was in favour of the death penalty. She thought that maybe one day there would be a cure for homosexuality. She was very much in favour of Brexit. it. But I guess, you know, what gave her a second lease on life was appearing in these reality TV shows. One was Strictly Come Dancing and the other one was something called Celebrity Big Brother.

42:17And I guess what appealed in both her political life and in the reality TV life was that she had a certain authenticity. You know, I mean, she didn't beat about the bush. Unlike a lot of politicians where they give mealy mouth answers. And I know this from personal experience in interviewing her you knew exactly where you stood with her and a good sense of humor as well but one thing that's really shocking and quite frightening local people I suspect is that she despite having a large personality was absolutely tiny I mean she was barely five foot tall and this area of Devon that she lived in has got a really low crime rate hasn't it has it really has I mean you couldn't imagine somewhere it's near where I go on my annual holidays so I know the area well I mean you couldn't imagine a place where you'd be least likely to expect any kind of crime never mind murder I mean people don't tend to lock their doors people don't tend to lock their cars very much and you know in the whole of 2025 in Devon which is in the southwest of England there were there were just nine homicides so I think it gives it gives you an idea of how incredibly rare this is.

43:26Well that police investigation continues Rob Thanks so much for joining us with the latest on that, the death, the murder, it seems, of Anne Whittacombe, former government minister here in the UK.

43:48You're with NewsHour Live with me, Rebecca Kesby, and it is with complete BBC impartiality that I turn to our final item this hour, the next quarterfinal match at the Men's Football World Cup later today between England and Norway. It's being billed as something of a grudge match going back a thousand years to when marauding Vikings repeatedly invaded these isles. That's before they all assimilated into the local population and everyone made friends. There's been a lot of friendly banter heading into this match. Let's put it that way. We've got two fans live on the line. Joachim Rodron was lucky enough to win tickets to see Norway play in the World Cup.

44:30He's now back at home in Oslo and joins us. And Andy Milne is an England fan who joins us from Miami because, and I hope I'm reading my notes correctly here, because it says here that you sold your house, Andy, to get the cash to follow England to the World Cup. Is that true? It's a story that's going, doing the rounds. I took early retirement and I had a second house, which was always an investment. And yeah, we have sold that one and some of the money is being used to fund my travels. OK, so it's partly true. OK, very good. Partly true, but don't worry, I do have a place to live. And Joachim, you were lucky enough to win tickets.

45:12Talk us through that. Yeah, it was the sort of a corporation with Visa, who is obviously one of the corporators with FIFA. So I just applied for the group stage games for Norway. And luckily I was granted two tickets. So full perfection in my part. So I was lucky enough to bring my father-in-law on the trip. So we had a really nice time. Very good call to take the father-in-law. I'm sure that will go well in the years to come. And how has your experience been in the United States? It was incredible. We skipped the first game against Iraqi. Unfortunately, the dates didn't align with us. So we went to the Senegal game and we flew over New York.

46:03And just the sight of the massive building there was incredible. and of course we were lucky enough to be there at the same time as thousands of Norwegian rode at Times Square so it was incredible. We didn't participate in that rowing but we were walking with our Norway shirts down the streets and everybody just walked up to us and said oh are you those crazy rowing guys we support you we hope you beat France we hope you beat Senegal so that was fun. And Andy how do you assess the mood there in the United States because some people were worried that it hasn't had the background that many European or South American countries have had a love affair with football.

46:45But there does seem to have been quite a lot of enthusiasm in the States. It's been great over here. This is my 10th World Cup and every World Cup that you go to, the local populace, they're really desperate to show you just how great their country is. And it's exactly the same here. Also, like I haven't been to Canada, but I have been to Mexico on my tours and the Mexicans were really enthusiastic and really welcoming as well. So, yeah, I've had a fantastic time out here. Well, I mean, you're clearly a diehard England fan and many of our listeners will be aware of the phrase 60 years of hurt now.

47:28It's 60 years since England last won the World Cup. Can they do it this year? look we've got a great team we certainly can um i think that uh all england fans uh have um come to tournaments nowadays with a huge amount of uh optimism sort of tinged with a and expectation reality yeah yeah and expectation uh we've got a great team and uh we're right in the mix there's only six teams left in the tournament now and uh we're one of them Joachim, I mentioned the friendly banter leading into this. There's been all sorts of brilliant memes about your front man, Harland, Erlen Harland, who's really captured the imaginations of people coming up with AI images of him dressed as a marauding Viking.

48:15It's kind of captured the imagination. Can he do it for your team tonight? He certainly can. I think he's proven now in the Premier League. and of course with both the qualification. I think he scored twice as many goals as the second one, amongst them Harry Kane, in the qualification. So he definitely has the quality to shoot Norway through. But of course, it's 11 against 11, so anything can happen within those 90 minutes or 120 if it's extra time. So we'll just have to wait and see, I guess. Well, there's a lot of anticipation here in the office and apparently Extra Time is doing the rounds.

48:55People do think it could go to Extra Time, Andy. How are your nerves ahead of this match? My nerves ahead of just about every single knockout match, afraid. But I think we've got it. I think we've got it in us. I'm quietly confident that we're going to come through. Erling Haaland is an absolute monster. In a good way. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But, you know, the debate at the moment is who would win in a fight, Erling Haaland or Thor? And Erling Haaland is the name that's coming out on top. So we're hoping that we can subdue him and, yeah, come through this. I mean, he's a spectacular player, Joachim.

49:45I mean, part of it, obviously, is the skill and the drive, but he's also really fast. Yeah, it's incredible that you don't really see that often that you have a fast, tall and strong player who is also technical. That is very rare. So I don't think we'll see anyone like that, especially in Norway, for many, many years to come. That's for sure. And for the English side, Andy Harry Kane has been dressed up as an Anglo-Saxon through a lot of this week leading into this match with a helmet ready to take on the marauding Vikings. He's been in the game for many years now. How do you rate his chances tonight?

50:28Harry Kane is just magnificent. You look at the number of goals that he's scored and he's way, way ahead of any other previous English goalscorer. But we've got a great team. I think we're more worried about our defence. We've got injuries and we've got people who are out. Red card, of course, controversially. Yeah, well, that red card has been extended for two games now. So I don't think Donald Trump's going to come in and remove that one for us, unfortunately. So, yeah, we're a little bit worried about defensively how we're going to line up. But it could be a very high scoring game, this one.

51:14Well, just very briefly then, your predicted score, Andy first.

51:22I'm quietly confident. I'm going to go for 2-0 to England. OK. Joachim? My guess is 2-2 in ordinary time and 3-2 in extra time. 2-2 in the ordinary 90 minutes. No, no, 3-2 to who? Who's the winner? Norway, of course. We'll have to see about that. Good luck to both teams.

51:49how did the united states build the largest soft power empire in the world with the help of some tiny metal objects i'm tristan redmond one of the hosts of the global story podcast from the bbc to mark 250 years of the united states we speak to roman mars of 99 invisible this soft power this influence was an incredible invention for more listen to the global story on bbc.com or wherever you get your podcasts.