Trump prepares to host Xi in Washington

24:38Okay, we've been talking about QP Mail for a minute now, Bo, and wow, the feedback we're getting. I mean, so many of y 'all love this stuff. You're stopping us in the street going, I love QP. And if you're thinking, wait, what is QP? Uh, do you not have the internet? It's the OG Japanese mayonnaise. The one with the red cap and the little baby on the bottle. Once you know it, you start seeing it everywhere. People ask what makes it different from basic mayo. Well, the answer? Egg yolks. Kewpie is made with egg yolks only, giving it this incredibly rich umami flavor that elevates everything. Burgers, fries, sandwiches, chicken, noodles.

25:17Chefs use it. Restaurants use it. People who really love food and flavor use it. Whatever you're eating, Kewpie hit. So if you haven't tried Kewpie yet, find the bottle with the red cap and see what everyone's talking about. You'll understand. Kewpie, the original Japanese mayonnaise. This is James Menendez with News Out. To Ghana in West Africa now, where an entrepreneur has found a way to solve two problems at once by turning waste plastic packaging into much-needed school desks. Our reporter Justice Baidu met Makafui Awoku in his workshop in Ghana's capital city, Accra. Welcome to Makintosh Africa.

25:59So let's walk around and let me show you some of them. A big guy with a big smile. Makafui Awoku has an infectious passion for recycling plastic. He shows me his current stockpile. So it's a huge heap of plastic bottles, sachet rubbers that have been collected together. How much plastics do we have here? About 400 kilograms. We generate about 1.1 million metric tons of plastic waste in Ghana every year. In Ghana, it is thought that just around 5 % of plastic is collected for recycling. McAfee's latest project addresses another problem here in Ghana. a shortage of school desks. We have a lot of debt deficit in our schools.

26:48We have a debt deficit of close to 2 million. McAfee makes desktops from the plastic sachets that are commonly used for drinking water here in Ghana. He has 300 drop-off points for the sachets around the country, and he supplements these by buying more that have been gathered by waste pickers. So when the dry shreds come here, we have this heat transfer equipment and then we have hydraulic press that we use to press it. So we set it and then we wait. So this looks to me like a big sandwich making machine but instead of sandwich, this is plastic materials that have been put into this machine and then been pressed together.

27:36Yes, that's close enough. These sandwich machines can create a range of materials from a leather-like fabric to these desk boards that are just like plywood. They are sanded

27:54and drilled to the desk frames. So far, McAfee has supplied 600 desks to 12 schools around the country. They cost about 60 US dollars each. but they are not paid for by the schools but with grants and corporate donations. I travel to a nearby school to see them for myself. So this is a classroom of about 60 pupils and as I enter here I can see McAfee's desk lined up with the students sitting on them and using them. I'm just going to go have a chat. When we are writing exams, you know the wooden decks they are not that smooth for the people So when we are writing, the writing don't look smooth, but they'll find it a good part, so it's really helpful.

28:40The wooden decks, they break easily, but these plastic decks, they don't decay and they don't break easily. They are very hard. Well, I can't resist asking the students to test the strength of the desks. OK, so three, two, one, go!

28:59Thank you. And that was the BBC's Justice Baidu reporting there from Accra in Ghana. This is the BBC World Service in London. You're listening to NewsHour and I'm James Menendez. Now, remember the time not long ago when all we were talking about was Greenland, a threat by the Trump administration to annex or even invade this snowbound territory of Denmark that sparked a profound crisis in transatlantic relations and indeed the NATO alliance. That was only nine months ago, but on Tuesday, the leaders of Denmark, the US and Greenland all signed an agreement that looks like it settles the matter once and for all.

29:36A new defence deal, or rather an update to an old deal from the 1950s, that allows the US to develop two new military bases there while underscoring Denmark's sovereignty. A win-win-win, said Greenland's Prime Minister. And the Danish Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, had this to say about the agreement.

29:58Look, I've been involved in making many political deals over the years, but I haven't made many as consequential as this one, I'll freely admit. What characterises a good deal is, of course, that it resonates with all parties. And from the perspective of the Danish Commonwealth and of Europe, it is crucial that we strengthen overall security in our part of the world. and this is also something that the US president cares about. And yes, it has been a long process. A lot has been said. I'm not going to get into all the discussions that we've had but what I will say is that I am absolutely thrilled about this deal.

30:38Well, Minik Rosing is a professor of geology at the University of Copenhagen and a Greenlander himself. What's his view? I think it's really good and is basically explicitating the situation as it de facto has been for a long time. Yeah, so to that extent, I mean, how much has changed? I think not very much, actually. I think there's one major thing that you would see where the US side would like to have some reassurance, that is that in case Greenland gains independence from Denmark, that the military president of the US is still guaranteed and that Greenland will remain within NATO. So I think that is probably the new part that is most important.

31:21I mean, is it also good for Greenland in that the country is now a signatory to this deal? I mean, does that feel like quite a big step? I think it is. And I think that the fact that Greenland and Denmark and the US are signatures on the same level, I think is very important for Greenland anyway. But I think one thing that is interesting also is, of course, that you could also say there are two sides of the table and Greenland and Denmark are sitting on the same side and representing basically the same objective. So I think that's also important for the Kingdom of Denmark. Do you think there's widespread relief now in Greenland that all the uncertainty, I mean, all the worry over the past few months has gone away?

32:02Yeah, I think that all of the worry has probably been taken a bit too far, but there's definitely a relief. When this was pulled out of the public sphere and into diplomatic track, there was a relief already. But this has been allowed to continue and reach a result. I think it's good news for everybody. I mean, one wonders, given the agreement, what was all the fuss about? I think it's really hard to tell what it was about. I think that the American industry has had access to, you know, work on mineral resources in Greenland and has been encouraged to do so for decades from both Greenland and Denmark.

32:36And I think also the military presence has been guaranteed since 1951. So I think that it's difficult to put a finger on exactly what was the objective. Do you think if President Trump had asked Greenlanders and asked Denmark for what is in this agreement and asked them nicely and calmly, then the US would have got it? Absolutely. Absolutely. I have no doubt about that. I don't think it was a hard negotiation. I think it was more that it's a clarification of, again, what the situation was and what the desired situation would be. And everybody pretty much agreed about that. Yeah, I mean, President Trump at one point said he wanted to own Greenland.

33:19I mean, this agreement is quite a long way from that, isn't it? It is. It is. Again, it's one of these things I don't think it's helpful to speculate too much about. So can Greenlanders get on with their lives now? I hope so, yeah. And I think it has definitely been some dents in the trust. And I think also people have been really concerned about this prospect of potential military intervention, but also being colonized over again, I think, has not been very attractive. I think there's been some level of misjudgment from the U.S. side in that I think the Americans thought when they first proposed this that the Greenlanders would be happy to be part of the U.S.

34:01right away. And there's maybe some level of surprise that people actually didn't buy into that idea. That was Greenlander Professor Minnick Rosing. Well, True Horn is a former U.S. Department of Energy and White House official from the first Trump administration. He's the founder and CEO of GreenMet, a critical minerals and financial advisory firm. Drew joins us on the line from West Virginia. Welcome to NewsHour. What does this agreement mean for someone like you? Does it open up the possibility of searching for those critical minerals or does it make it harder? Well, you know, I got to say, I think it's a phenomenal deal for all parties And it absolutely accelerates and helps our projects and desire to develop and build sustainable growth here between the countries and with the right resources.

34:49So, you know, we're in a position where we already have a large rare earth critical minerals mine that we're working to bring in U.S. and European and Greenlandic finance and development companies into, I think, having the deal official and putting to bed some of the drama and the distraction. It's really going to help us fast track growth that I think is going to be really beneficial for all parties, particularly the Greenlanders that I think really want and need this. Well, it's interesting you use words drama and distraction. I mean, was all that drama and distraction worth it? I mean, as we heard there, this deal probably could have been reached, what, back in January or February, couldn't it?

35:29Well, no, it couldn't actually. And a lot of people, what they don't realize is that there was a previous deal that was similar to this, that was presented to the new Greenlandic leadership that was rejected back in the wintertime. And so a lot of people don't understand President Trump's negotiation style. I'm not going to get into all the details of exactly what was said. But those of us that have worked for him publicly in government before, and then as a private advisor and investor looking to support a lot of those policy initiatives with investment and development, we understand it's a process.

36:05And I think that process, though, it was at times a little bit painful. And now there's some hurt feelings on all sides to maybe repair and build past, it was necessary to get us where we're at right now. Is that because Denmark, from your point of view, Denmark and Greenland weren't cooperating? I don't think they realized there was the specifics that we, from the US perspective, were looking for to protect our collective security and to open up from a business perspective, the ability to develop and move forward all of these projects. I can go through the actual language of the agreement, but there's some specific concessions and agreements that are made that are really going to turn on the pipeline for growth that really were not there previously from a US private perspective.

36:57Was it worth threatening to invade Greenland though? There was never, in my opinion, an actual threat to do that. I think there was misunderstandings. President Trump said so. I mean, he threatened to use military force to achieve his objectives, didn't he? Well, I mean, I'm not going to get into too much arguments on the details. I don't think there was ever a legitimate or real threat to use military force. The United States has always been the primary security provider for Greenland and for Denmark, for that matter. And I don't think that was ever in question. I think a lot of comments were taken out of context.

37:34But I think what's important is that we've now gotten to a part where all of the allies can work together, we can get past these misunderstandings, and we can focus on collective growth and security that, frankly, we all benefit from. Thank you very much indeed. That was Drew Horn, who worked in the first Trump administration, founder, now CEO of GreenMet, that critical minerals firm. now here's a story for anyone who's dreamed of rifling through a charity shop and finding a hidden treasure a rare first edition of the american classic to kill a mockingbird has been discovered among a box of donations to a store belonging to the charity auxfam in west london let's talk to the manager there olivia haisman walker olivia welcome to news take us through the story how does it all begin then what a box of books turns up Hi, yeah.

38:27So it's very exciting. Our deputy manager found the book in a box of donations. It was a beautiful antiquarian copy of To Kill a Mockingbird. And when you get a book that's as beloved as that, and that's as old as this copy was, you start to look and see if it's something special. And this copy was. And your colleague, I mean, was it an instant thing? They took a look at it and thought, hold on a second, this is something different. Yeah, absolutely. We're always on the lookout for precious gems like that and people are really generous and sometimes they'll even say oh I think this one might be a bit something a bit special.

39:02Did they in this case? We don't know but we hope that they knew what they had and that they knew that we'd get a fair price for it. I mean was there any clue I'm just so intrigued by this was there any clue in the other books that this was some you know someone who had a high quality collection they were donating or do you think that they overlooked the fact that this was something so rare? Well it was something that had clearly been read and loved. The book jacket itself was a little bit tatty so you can picture it being on somebody's shelf and then ending up in like a donation. They're clearing out their library and yeah it came in with just a lot of other books from the period so possibly was bought originally in 1960 and has been with them ever since.

39:48Yeah I'm just looking at a picture of it and as you say it looks like you know what could easily be mistaken for any slightly sort of worn second-hand book but what about the condition inside how was that it was beautiful yeah pages were unblemished they were tightly bound it was yeah a real special find so it's been passed to the national collection at the British Library did I don't want to break any confidences but I mean did they pay for it and did they pay you? They did yeah they gave us a very generous charitable donation for it. It eventually ended up on our online shop which is open to anybody across the country who wants to browse and buy books and that's where the British Library found it and they got into contact with us and said can we come and have a look at it just verify that it is what we think it is and then they were very happy to purchase it from us.

40:42So it was open for general sale before they spotted it? It was, yeah. First on our shop floor and then on an online shop. Oh, my goodness. I feel like I've missed the trick here. Can I ask you, I mean, are you able to tell us how much they pay for it? I'm not allowed, I'm afraid. Are we talking four figures, five figures? Four figures, yes. Four figures. Has this ever happened to you before, to one of your shops? Yeah, we get gems all the time. I would keep an eye out on the Bonhams auction. That's who Oxam goes to when we have valuable books. In the recent years, we've sold the first translation of the Bible into Chinese at Bonhams.

41:27Last year, we sold a very beautiful edition of The Hobbit. And actually, my shop is really buzzing at the moment because we had a first edition Hobbit that is also going for sale at Bonhams in November. Wow, amazing. Olivia, thank you very much indeed for telling us that. That was manager of that Oxfam charity shop in London, Olivia Hazeman Walker, on uncovering that first edition of To Kill a Mockingbird. You're listening to NewsHour.

42:10Thank you.

42:40Thank you.

43:10Thank you.

44:04This is James Menendez with NewsHour. Let's head to Morocco now because people there are taking part in parliamentary elections today. Or rather, some people are, because with more than one in three young adults out of work in Morocco, many of them simply haven't bothered registering to vote. That level of unemployment, as well as frustration over the cost of living and access to healthcare, sparked Morocco's own Gen Z demonstrations this time last year. Siham Azarual is an environmental activist who lives in the Atlas region of the country. She's been talking to us about the vote. This is my first time voting ever, because I truly believe that if you don't vote, you don't have the right to criticise the system.

44:45But the thing is, I'm kind of ashamed by our political scene, because it's a complete circus out there. And I'm ashamed that this is the level of politicians that we have. Well, at the end of July this year, about 60 ,000 people, most of them young Moroccans, surged across the border into Spain's North African exclave of Ceuta, in search of better prospects in the European Union. Most have now been sent back. So will this election make any difference? Let's speak to Gregory Holyoke, who covers North Africa for BBC Monitoring. Gregory, a warm welcome to NewsHour. I mean, first of all, is this parliamentary election, I mean, is there a real contest here?

45:24Well, thank you very much for having me, first of all. Yes, there is definitely a competition that's going on and there has been a lot of media speculation in Morocco that we've been looking at of, you know, whether the current governing coalition will be able to maintain power or if this opposition, justice and development Islamist party that was in power until the previous election when its representation really collapsed, about 13 of the almost 400 seats, whether they will be able to take back some power. But, you know, I think as Sihem mentioned there in her interview, one of the main issues here is that a lot of people don't feel like any of the parties are representative of them.

46:12And I think that the recent protests, the Gen Z protests, really exemplified that. And is that because the king still basically wields most of the power in the country? Yeah, I mean, it's not necessarily as simple as that. It's definitely not like Saudi Arabia in terms of its kind of absolute monarchy. And in 2011, you know, following the Arab Spring, which started, you know, in that region, it started in North Africa, in Tunisia. In 2011, there were constitutional reforms because there were protests in Morocco. And that definitely, you know, in an almost sort of Magna Carta-esque style way, puts down some, you know, administrative and governmental reforms that have passed power to Parliament.

47:00That being said, we do see with Morocco, it was one of the only countries in the region whose governing forces, that being the king there, actually survived those uprisings. And he does definitely still, in terms of foreign policy and a lot of domestic policy and kind of financial policy, wield a huge amount of power. Morocco is, however, still under most metrics like the Economist Democracy Index. It's counted as a hybrid regime. It's not counted as a full democracy. But it does generally come out as the kind of most democratic in the Middle East, North African region. Yeah. And just finally, and we've got about 45 seconds left, I mean, we've got to talk about football.

47:41I mean, Morocco has been doing very well at football and is preparing to host the next World Cup. I mean, how unhappy are people about all the money that's been spent on investing in new stadiums and stuff and perhaps not other things? Well, I'm really glad you mentioned that as well, because yes, this is this sort of weird paradox where it's a nation that is so proud of its football and so proud of its footballing achievements and is so proud to hold the FIFA World Cup. But they're less proud to be spending, or at least the population, billions of dollars on it. I actually just saw this image of a woman holding a sign saying, you know, at least the FIFA World Cup stadium will have a first aid kit in reference to the lack of money that they believe is going to social and health services.

48:24Thank you very much indeed. That was Gregory Holyoke, who covers North Africa for BBC Monitoring. now it once took me a whole day with a book to solve a rubik's cube but this week a six-year-old girl from china lian yunji has broken the women's world record for solving a three by three by three puzzle the standard cube in an average time of less than four and a half seconds yeah blink and you'll miss it news hours rebecca kesby has been talking to jessica friedrich she's a pioneering speed cuber as they're known she's been doing it for about 40 years and even invented her own widely copied method.

48:59What does she make of this achievement? It's absolutely mind-boggling. Congratulations to her. She's going to be even better. When you see her, it's like magic. She's doing it so fast. And she's so small, just six years old. It's unbelievable, especially the cubers from China nowadays. They are dominating speed cubing. If you look at the top six cubers, they're all from China. They're all very young. So it's a trend. And it's unbelievable that a A six-year-old girl can do it in 4.27 seconds on average. That is nothing short of a miracle, basically. I mean, apparently she does spend two to three hours a day training on the Rubik's Cube.

49:40Is that something that's normal for a cuber, as you call them? I think she spends a lot more than that. Really? That's my personal guess, yes. Tell me why. Because you become a great speed cuber only if you get possessed by the cube. if it spells the magic all over you and you can't do anything else, basically. So I think two to three hours is an understatement. That's just my personal guess. So what is your advice then on even completing a Rubik's Cube, to be completely honest with you? Because, I mean, obviously she's doing it very fast. I just don't have the patience. I've been sitting with this thing now for half the programme and I still can't do it.

50:20So what would your top tips be? My top tip is to have fun and do it the way you like to do it and that brings you joy. If it brings you joy to try to chase the seconds and become one of the best cubers in the world, then do it. If you just want to be able to solve it or impress friends, do it. If you don't want to do it at all, don't do it. Would there be a trick to it or a system maybe that works? There is no trick to it. It's a lot of work. It's an incredible amount of work, An incredible memorization that you have to be willing to undertake, to memorize probably over a thousand of algorithms to be able to be this fast.

51:02It's like a magician, you know, like when you see a sleight of hand, when you see a magician manipulate cards, they are doing tricks. They are amazing you. Your mind is completely blown because you have no explanation for what's happening. It looks natural, but it took years and years to practice. speed cubing is the same you need to be possessed somehow by the cube you need to feel the inner engine to keep doing it and keep doing it and the motivation to just get faster and faster and faster and that's intangible you either have it or you're done i was a pioneering speed cuber jessica friedrich talking there to my colleague rebecca kesby and that brings us to the end of this edition of news from me and the rest of the team thanks so much for listening i'll be back at the same time tomorrow.

51:50Until then, bye-bye.

52:08Welcome to the Haunted Library. Have you come in search of a tale? This podcast invites you to browse the shelves and find stories that will linger long after you've left this place. From gothic masterpieces to pulpy penny dreadfuls, join me, Colin Morgan, with new episodes twice a week. Find The Haunted Library wherever you get your podcasts.