Fighting intensifies in Yemen

This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK. This is the story of an Islamic boarding school in Indonesia, with a dark secret of the school's head teacher. This was someone I respected above anyone else and the investigation led by students he's trying to silence. This is the global news podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Janet Jalil and in the early hours of Tuesday the 6th of October, these are our main stories. Fighting intensifies in Yemen between Iranian-Bat Houthis and the Saudi-led coalition supporting the Yemeni government. France braces for what could be its biggest day of school protests yet after a 15-year-old boy has had his hand blown off during a confrontation with police. The Nobel Prize for Medicine is awarded to scientists who have used light to better understand how our brains work. Also in this podcast we look back on the life of British best-selling author and politician Jeffrey Archer who has died at the age of 86. And we have the keyboard in front of you exactly where you'd expect a piano keyboard. And then take the strings that are lying horizontally. Just make them go straight up. We speak to the inventor of a new piano, the standing grand. We start in Yemen where government forces backed by Saudi aircraft have carried out a wave of attacks on Iranian-backed Houthi fighters. In an attempt to rest back control of territory that the Houthi seized in a lightning advance last month. This includes strategic positions on the Babel Mandab Strait, an important waterway that the Saudis had been using as an alternative to the blockaded straight off her moves. The Yemeni military says it's carried out hundreds of strikes and begun an offensive against the capital sauna which has been held by the Houthis for years. For their part, the Houthis say they have again attacked targets in Saudi Arabia including Riyadh Airport, an oil refinery and a military base. Here's a Houthi military spokesperson Yaya Saria. The Houthis carried out three qualitative military operations using a large number of ballistic and cruise missiles and drones. The Houthis worn all international airlines using Saudi airspace to seize their flights as it has become an operation zone for our forces, with the exception of the sacred airspace over Mecca and Medina. According to UN figures, the fighting has displaced more than 180,000 people in a country that is already in the grip of a humanitarian crisis. Shortly before we recorded this podcast, I got this update on the latest clashes from Keshe, Jonadi of BBC Persian. It's a very big development when we consider the role the Houthis played in putting pressure on international oil markets in support of the war in Iran. The Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces say that they have managed to drive back Houthis from some of the strategically important territories that they had recently captured around the strategic waterway bubble Mandab, including Mecca. And by this, they have weakened the Houthis' control over bubble Mandab. But of course, this doesn't mean that they can't attack international shipping lanes through the Red Sea. But they are now in a weakened position. The Houthis themselves have started attacking Saudi targets. They have attacked airports in Riyadh and they are warning that they will further escalate their attacks against the Saudis. Of course, the forces of the international recognized government in Yemen who are fighting against the Houthis are supported by Saudi air power. More than 100 Saudi combat aircrafts have been supporting their operation, as well as they have been also receiving US intelligence support during their operations. But as you say, the Houthis have managed not only to gain large tracks of territory along the Red Sea in that lightning advance last month, but they've also been carrying out attacks from Saudi Arabia and there's no prospect of that ending soon. And not at all. And of course, there have been discussions here in Washington regarding the military strength and the situation of the Houthis considering the fact that the Americans and bombarded Houthi strategic points last year. And now there is this new understanding here in Washington that probably the American forces were not successful in destroying the Houthi military capability. And of course, they'll be receiving support from the Iranian government and they've managed to reconstruct their military power to attack the Saudis. Kesha, Janati, to France now. That's the sound of more demonstrations against dilapidated and understaffed schools. The protests began last month that a high school in a Paris suburb over teacher shortages and rapidly spread to hundreds of schools with many of the demonstrations turning violent as protesters clashed with police. Dozens of people, including children, teachers and police officers, have been injured. During one confrontation on Monday, a 15-year-old boy had his hand blown off reportedly when he tried to pick up a police stun grenade, although that's been disputed by witnesses. In the past week, 5,000 people, mainly teenagers, have been arrested. And the protests took set to continue with teachers and public sector workers expected to join a national day of action. A Paris correspondent, Huseko Field, spoke to anchor Dissai, starting with the incident involving the 15-year-old student. It has story up in Lille, near Lille-launch, is the town, at least say there this morning at 11 o'clock. And I imagine that they were experiencing the classic routine of these affairs, with, you know, crowd of Lissais protesting, some of whom or a group of outsiders attached to whom start causing problems, the police feel they called upon to intervene. And will have been using, therefore, some of their weaponry, which is a kind of crowd dispersal arms, non-leafal arms, one of which is kind of grenade thing, which explodes on impact on the ground and sends out lots of little rubber fragments with a huge noise, big bang. And it's designed just to hurt people lightly on their legs, but to get them to disperse. Now, the police version of all of this is that one of these was fired, the boy picked it up and intended to throw it back, it exploded in his hand. But it's contested, the other version is that, no, this project, I'll hit him in the hand as he was running away and exploded on impact with him. And that's how he lost his hand. There's no way of knowing which of these two versions is true until the investigation has been carried out, so we just have to leave it at that. Q, just how challenging is this proving to be for the government to contain, and especially when young people do generally get a lot of support when it comes to these sort of movements? As you say, that everyone, even the government, concedes that there's justice in what they're asking for, they're asking for better buildings, more teachers, all the rest of it, anyone who's sent children through the French state system, these problems are real. Not particularly worse in than in other European countries, and we're going to ask the software in France and all in other countries, but in France, it's part of the tradition to protest against when things aren't perfect or great. So everyone kind of agrees with the issue with the grievance. Q, they said to be a big day, tell us a bit more about what we expect from the protest, and just further afield, how are these protests being received across France? It could be a very big day of big demonstrations, which, you know, sounds like it's an escalation, it may be that that is what's needed in order to kind of work through the pain of all of this. Often in France, you get these situations where there's just a big blockage of tension in society, and a big day of demonstrations where everyone can say, look, we were millions on the streets, and we did this, and we showed how strong we were. That often is the beginning of the end of the protest, because something psychological has happened, and it begins to defuse after that. I'm not saying that's what's going to happen, but that is certainly the government's hope. But if there are more incidents like today's, and if the government can't give something, even a token, I mean, it has to give some ground, even though there's no money, I mean, everyone knows there's no money in France to address these problems, but it has to give some kind of recompense or some kind of token concession to show that it takes all this seriously. If that doesn't happen, then it could go on. British Members of Parliament have called for an investigation into the treatment of whistleblowers after a British trader who exposed evidence of Jeffrey Epstein's links to powerful figures took his own life. BMPs want an independent review of the actions of the UK's financial watchdog. the Financial Conduct Authority. Simon Andrews exposed evidence of links between Epstein and the man who is now the U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnik. Andy Verity reports. Simon Andrews first got in touch with the Financial Conduct Authority in 2018 about Howard Lutnik's former firm BGC Partners and his business links with Jeffrey Epstein and British Royals. This year he discovered emails supporting his concerns in the Epstein files, indicating Lutnik and Epstein were co-investors in a firm called Adfin, and that Lutnik's firm planned to go into business with Andrew Mountbatten Windsor. He also said BGC and its lawyers had retaliated against him for his whistle-blowing, an allegation they deny, and that inaction by the SCA had put him and his family through absolute hell. MPs say his recent death raises deeply troubling questions. The SCA said it would appoint a non-executive director to review his own treatment of his whistle-blowing claims, but MPs and campaigners are demanding an independent investigation. Andy Verity. The Nobel Prize in Medicine has been awarded to three scientists for their work in helping to shed light, literally, on the mystery of how our brains work. American Karl Dyseroth and German Pieter Hagermann and Georg Nagel were honoured for their work in the field of optogenetics, which uses light to control the activity of nerve cells in the brain. Here's our medical editor, Fergus Walsh. The field of optogenetics was born when Pieter Hagermann and Georg Nagel discovered a protein in a single-celled alga that enabled it to swim towards a light source. Karl Dyseroth worked out how to use this light-controlled protein to switch on nerve cells in the brains of mice. The Nobel Committee said, using light, scientists can now bring memories to life, create feelings, and study neurons involved in psychiatric and neurological disorders. Professor Abdel El Manira, a member of the Nobel Assembly, likened the processes the three scientists had investigated to a chess move. Consider a chess player evaluating the position of each piece, recalling patterns from past games, anticipating an opponent's response and weighing all the consequences of each possible move. vast networks of neurons in the brain integrate perception, memory, prediction, and planning, and from all this a decision emerges. Karl Dyseroth gave his reaction to winning the award. It's an incredible honor and unexpected, but a deep honor. I've been working on a paper and I had just gone into lay down and when my call came, so I was not yet asleep being a night owl and now I don't think I'll be able to sleep for quite a while. Optogenetics is being used as an experimental medical treatment to try to restore vision in people whose light-sensitive cells in the retina have been destroyed. The Nobel committee said every day was bringing new discoveries and optogenetics was helping to solve one of humanity's great mysteries, how our incredible brains work. Fergus Vosh. Still to come in this podcast? Come here and sniff out things like fish. Do you have what it takes to be an official smell? Welcome 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. The Hubble Space Telescope was designed to peer deeper into the universe than ever before unlocking some of its greatest secrets, but after launch, a devastating flaw emerged. The significant spherical aberration appears to be present in the optics. National disaster. Hubble launched with flawed mirror. The BBC Space Podcast 13 minutes is telling the inside story of how NASA rescued Hubble. The future of space astronomy depends on it. From the BBC World Service 13 minutes trouble with Hubble. Listen now, wherever you get your BBC podcasts. So, quick summer recap. Heat waves, data leaks, AI hacks, holding phones, and a viral spinally challenge track here. Yeah, I think that covers it right. I'm Thomas Germain. I'm just Maddox and the interface is back from its summer break. New season, new co-host, same deep dives into the tech that's shaping our world and our lives. So, before AI wipes out all of humanity, uh, allegedly, join us for the interface. Listen on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcast. It felt like everything I believed in was suddenly collapsing. This is the story of an Islamic boarding school in Indonesia with a dark secret. Of the school's head teacher. This was someone I respected above anyone else, and the investigation led by students he's trying to silence. To the media I'll be destroyed. This is World of Secrets, catching my teacher. This is the Global News Podcast. Russia has been downplaying reports that a lab technician who died last week may have been exposed to pneumonic plague. The details of how she died have not yet been established, but it's understood the woman who worked at a plague research center in Siberia was diagnosed with a pneumonia of unknown origin and that several local hospitals have been placed under quarantine. The Kremlin spokesman Dimitri Peskov urged Russians to stay calm. You should listen to official statements rather than listening to various rumors, speculations, and the like. Ross Petrebnetso is the authority, and it employs highly qualified professionals in this field. But his words have done little to alay fears inside or outside Russia. Four central Asian countries have stepped up health checks on their borders, and the US is watching the situation closely. BBC Monitoring's Russia editor, Vitaly Chevchenko, has been following the case. It started last week when this 28-year-old woman died in Irakutsk, which is in Siberia. The local media found out that she worked at the local plague institute. Now, it's not in military institution. It was set up almost a century ago, specifically to contain the spread of the plague and that part of Russia. Once they found out that that's where they worked, they made the conclusion that she possibly had broken a test tube and died because of contamination. That is as much as we can gather from Russian media reporting. The authorities, particularly the Russian Health Agency, Eroskov Nazor, they've conducted their own tests, and they found no trace of what they say micro-organisms linked to her professional activity in that woman's blood. So that suggests that it wasn't the plague, whether or not we believe what the Russian authorities say is a different matter. But if it was the plague, and it's a big if at the moment, how bad is it? It's not like the plague's making a comeback because that disease still exists in the United States, for example, an average of seven cases are registered every year. In Russia, as far as I've been able to find out, this is the first or would be the first case in 10 years, and it's a disease that can be treated reasonably well by antibiotics. So nothing to worry about too much. Vitaly Shevchenko. Meanwhile, the U.S. is battling its worst measles outbreak in decades. New York State has declared an emergency with more than 100 cases reported there this year. Neutrophic reports. It's been three decades since the United States recorded such high cases of measles and since a state faced such a large outbreak. Pennsylvania has so far recorded five measles associated deaths and more than 1,000 cases. Since last year, outbreaks have been reported in Texas, Utah, and South Carolina. With the public health emergency hitting neighboring Pennsylvania hard, Governor Hockle of New York wants to strengthen ongoing efforts to confront the disease by increasing the number of health professionals who can vaccinate and test, especially in under immunized rural communities. Lawmakers say the rise in cases is due to a decrease in childhood vaccines driven by misinformation. Neutrophic. The best-selling British author and former pause. politician Jeffrey Archer has died at the age of 86. He started writing novels in the 1970s to pay off massive debts and ended up selling more than 300 million books worldwide, including blockbusters such as Cane Enable and Not A Penny More, Not A Penny Less. As a prominent conservative politician, he mixed with former prime ministers Margaret Thatcher and John Major but fell from grace after being jailed for poetry. In an interview with the BBC just a day before his death, he reflected on how prison had changed him. Well, certainly the privilege of meeting lots of interesting people, dare I put it that way, meant that I had wonderful plots for books. Yes. What did you learn about the public people in Britain? Oh, well, I was told that when I came out, no one would buy any of my books and the book sales went up and up, so I learned that. Are we forgiving? Are we forgiving people? Oh, the British are tremendously so. And the British like people to fight back. It's a very British trait. With more on a life that was as colourful as one of his books, here's Irony Wells. Jeffrey Archer's life had as many plot twists as one of his best-selling novels. Atori MP before he was 30, he stood down when a bad investment led to financial ruin, unable to find a job he turned to writing to pay his debts. It was more of a necessity than anything else because when I left the House of Commons, as I say, with debts of $427,727 and I looked for a job, people don't automatically consider you're the obvious choice as their next financial director. His books were sneered out by critics, but they sold in their millions. An important fundraiser for the Conservatives, Margaret Thatcher made him deputy party chairman. But in 1986, he resigned over newspaper stories that he'd slept with a sex worker. Archer sued for libel and one half a million pounds. He was given a peerage and party members who adored his morale boosting speeches chose him as their candidate for mayor of London in 1999. The party leader William Hague had dismissed warnings from some colleagues that he was a risky candidate. Within weeks, they were proved right. A former friend revealed that Lord Archer had asked him to provide a false alibi in the original libel case. He was expelled from the party, charged and convicted of perjury and spent two years in jail. He later resumed his writing career, but his dreams of a political career never recovered. I only well with that look back at the life of Geoffrey Archer, who has died at the age of 86. For our next item, I'd like you to picture a grand piano. Now keep the keyboard exactly where it is, but turn the rest of it vertically so the strings are going straight up and are directly in front of you when you play. That's the instrument that's been created by a concert pianist who often has to pluck the strings during performances as well as playing the keys. Sarah Nichols told Katie Razzle why she changed the piano's shape. I was leaning inside the grand piano because the sounds that you can make by plucking the strings or strumming or finding a harmonic are really amazing, but they're very uncomfortable to reach. Somebody once said it looks like a car mechanic going under the bonnet of a car. And how common is it Sarah to, as a concert pianist, to be doing that, to be playing rather than just playing the keys, actually also leaning in to effectively pluck the strings? Well, you'd be surprised. I was being asked to do it a lot because I was specialising in contemporary classical music. It was first written for in 1916 to play inside the piano. So it's been going on a long time. People like John Cage have made it very famous. Lots of people do it now, young composers. It's got heritage and that was the first problem, but there was another problem as well. The pianos are heavy. The piano strings have 20 tons of tension and that's the equivalent of two London buses. It's a lot of tension and it's held with this cast iron which was patented 200 years ago. Cars change, buildings change, pianos don't change. And so that set me off on a quest to see if I could make a lighter piano. And what have you made it out of? What's the ingredients? The main ingredient is carbon fibre, which is light and strong. We're still testing it and improving it. What I can play for you today is a few sounds on my earlier prototype, which is actually a hacked piano from 1913. I experience it as a sort of orchestra of piano, right? Because you can make so many different colors, but it's really important to say that the piano I'm developing is perfectly well designed to simply play normal repertoire on it. You can sit down and play Beethoven and that's really fine. It's for me what's exciting is making a musical instrument means that I'm giving people the tool to play their own favourite music and that's amazingly exciting. Do you think it'll catch on? Because clearly lots of people don't have pianos for cost reasons, but you can get a second out one really cheaply now because the main reason I think people don't have them is because they take up so much room and maybe yours will take up less room. That's exactly it. It's the sound of a grand in the footprint of an upright and a piano that you can carry up the stairs. Sarah Nichols on her new standing grand piano. Finally, if you have a good nose for picking up unusual smells, a Nordic country in Europe is perhaps your new calling in life. An archipelago of the southwestern coast of Finland has launched a global recruitment campaign after declaring itself the best smelling destination on earth. The Tauku archipelago is inviting people to apply to become the region's official smeller. Danny Aeberhard picks up the scent. The Tauku archipelago comprising some 40,000 islands and islands once a connoisseur to track down its best smells. Its tourist agency leads us by the nose with teasers, the sea on an autumn morning, a pine forest after rain, coastal rocks warmed by the sun, wood smoke drifting from a sauna's chimney, fresh dark bread. Its tongue and cheek campaign is fronted by the film actor Lombé Wilson, who's himself possessed of a prominent gallic nose. To validate this bizarre claim, the archipelago is recruiting a nose that is a person who does an exceptional sense of smell to come here and sniff out things like fish. Aplicants have to be 18 or over, but the agency stresses they don't need a diploma from a perfume school, just the confidence to describe the sense they discover on camera so that others want to smell them too. The week-long assignments will take place next year, and you get paid, just over $2,200, with your travel to Finland and accommodation costs covered. Not bad for what the agency is calling a nose job. That report was by Danny Abraham. And that's all from us for now. If you want to get in touch, you can email us at [email protected]. This edition of the Global News Podcast was mixed by Stephen Bailey and the producer was Aryan Cochie. The editor is Karen Martin. I'm Janajalil. Until next time, goodbye. From Gothic masterpieces to poppy penny dreadfuls, join me, Colin Morgan, with new episodes twice a week. Find the Haunted Library wherever you get your podcasts.