Former UN rights chief Navi Pillay wins Nobel Peace Prize

This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK. For goals or appetite for investing, Schwab has everything you need all in one place. Visit schwab.com to learn more. Odoo, providing tools for businesses across industries into one fully integrated platform. Whatever your business needs, Odoo is committed to providing it. Learn more at odoo.com. This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Charlotte Gallagher and at 1300 Hours GMT, on Friday the 9th of October, these are our main stories. The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded to Navi Pillay, a South African judge who's been at the forefront of global efforts to defend human rights. Saudi officials say three people have been killed at Riyadh airport in the latest Houthi attacks. We look at the condemnation of a Pentagon plan to live stream an execution. And an investigation is underway in New York into why ICE agents shot at a man in the back of his car and killed him. A man who was in a car with his young child. Also in this podcast. I decided that the better option will be a little village without any factories, any storages and any railway stations. Everything that can be Russia's target. We speak to the people forced to flee Kiev after hanging on for four years as Russia's bombardment intensifies and winter looms. We begin with the announcement of the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2026 to Navatanam Navi Pillay for her efforts to promote peace and international law. Navi Pillay's commitment to universal legal principles and her firm moral compass will be awarded to Navatanam Navi Pillay for her efforts to promote peace and international law. Navi Pillay's commitment to universal legal principles and her firm moral compass are constants in a long career. That was the chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Jørgen Vatner-Freudnes, awarding the prize to the former UN human rights chief, Navi Pillay. The committee also said she'd been instrumental in ensuring war crimes were prosecuted. Navi Pillay, a South African lawyer of Indian origin, joins the likes of Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr. and Mother Teresa, who have previously won the award. Speaking in the New York Times, I'm Navi Pillay. Texas. The killing took place in a medical building where soldiers were waiting to get vaccines and get checkups. During his court-martial in 2013, Hassan said he believed he was protecting Muslims and the Taliban in Afghanistan. Pete Hegseth, the US Defence Secretary, saying that his execution, which is due to take place on December 3rd, would be a public event. He said that he wants to make sure that people are able to watch it and that it's public. It's also the first military execution in around 60 years. It's not really known at this stage what the details of the live stream would be, on what platform it would be, how it would be viewed, what safeguards there would be for children, for example, what safeguards would be put in place. Those details are yet to be announced. The decision has prompted criticism from many who say the US shouldn't be joining the list of countries that still carry out public executions. Eugene Arfadel is a visiting professor. North Korea and Iran, those are countries that have public executions in this era. It's terrible company for the United States to be in. And it also violates the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the UN document to which the US is a party, although we haven't passed the legislation necessary to bring it down to earth here in the United States. This is a really, really unfortunate decision by Secretary. And the administration, this is supposed to be a dignified, important event and to live stream an execution is just so out of the Middle Ages. And, you know, we're so past that as a society, at least I thought so. Sergeant Alonzo Lunsford was shot seven times by Nadal Hassan in the Fort Hood attack, but survived. He believes he should be executed, but isn't sure his death should be. Live streamed me myself when I look at it over and over again, probably not. And then again, probably so I can't say it all depends on how I feel. But my biggest thing is, is the effect as far as looking at it for the general public, for our young future leaders, what kind of message would it send to them? Now, it has been stated that we just won't put up with such activity. OK, I'm with that 100 percent. But I don't think that kids should look at it. And as far. As far as the families of the fallen and the families of the survivors and the survivors themselves. Yes, I think we should be able to look at it uncensored because I'm going to be there. And before they pull the trigger, I want him to look at me in my eyes and I look at him in his eyes and I want him to know, do you fail? I'm still here. That was Sergeant Alonzo Lunsford staying in the US. We want our eyes off our trees. Protesters marching towards a hospital in New York City after US immigration enforcement officers known as ICE shot a man who was inside his car with his child. New York's Mayor Zoram Mamdani spoke to press near the scene. There is no explanation for federal officers firing this many rounds into a car that has a five year old in the car. And the pretext of ICE is, in their words, to keep this country safe. How is it? How is it keeping anyone safe to have individuals wearing construction vests in masks with long guns? Residents have no idea if these are law enforcement agents or if they are simply attacking someone on the street. Our reporter, Stephanie Prentice, has been following this and told me the latest. Well, Charlotte, as we recall this, it's still quite early in New York. So we're still waiting to get an update on the condition of the man who was shot. We know that he was from Dominican Republic. He was with his young child. He was in a car. And they were in a northern part of Manhattan when several rounds were fired at that vehicle by ICE agents during an attempted arrest operation. Now, we heard those protesters there. There's been a lot of outrage over this, particularly in that local area. Protests there outside the hospital, they did end in clashes with police. So we may see more of that going into Friday. And the focus from officials really is an investigation into how this happened, why this happened. And why so many shots were fired in this really busy urban area. Now, we can listen to one resident who said she was near a subway station and she saw the aftermath of the shooting. When I came off the train from Metro North, I walked up and we just saw ICE. Literally in like their militia gears, their guns, AK-47s, and they're all marauding down there. And then they're like, they're walking in and out and they're dapping each other up after somebody just got shot. You think it's OK to dap somebody up? After somebody just got shot, like you did a good job? So that term she's using there would describe a celebration of sorts. Now, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, that's defended what it's called the targeted arrest. It said the man had a criminal history, but there hasn't been any explanation of what prompted those shots to be fired. It did say the agents gave the man medical assistance at the scene. Zohra Mandani, he's called ICE rotten at its core, said it causes chaos. And along with other New York City leaders, he's calling for all agents to leave the city altogether. But does he have any power or does New York have any power to force the agents to leave? Well, ICE, as we know, is a federal authority. The U.S. itself is a bit of a patchwork of state laws, local laws, and they all intersect in different ways. So New York is among a few states that have more protections in place when it comes to limiting interaction with ICE from their agents themselves. Earlier this year, it did strengthen what's known as sanctuary protection. So, for example, ICE agents can't freely access any part of a school. They can't go into any part of a hospital. New York police officers don't have to assist them with these immigration operations. But New York doesn't have the power to ask ICE to leave completely, particularly not as things stand now. What New York does seem to have is an appetite for mobilization on the ground. We've seen a growing number of videos posted online where groups of neighbors, essentially, band together and they drive ICE agents out of their neighborhoods by themselves. That was Stephanie Prentice. Still to come in this podcast. Art can make a mirror and making the people's mind a little bit and making a lot of laughing. And when you laugh of a dictator, then you break the dictator's power in a way. Why a statue of Donald Trump has caused controversy at the European Parliament. Part of why I blew the whistle was I didn't want to lay in bed in 20 years. Having seen another million people die, I know that I could have done something when I had a chance. This week on The Interface, we're talking to Frances Haugen. The Facebook whistleblower who leaked the documents that changed how the world saw social media. And now she is the subject of Aaron Sorkin's latest movie, The Social Reckoning. So join me, Thomas Germain. And me, Jess Maddox, for The Interface. Listen on BBC.com or wherever. You get your podcasts. This is the Global News Podcast. As Russia steps up attacks on Ukrainian cities, hitting power plants, bridges, schools and warehouses in Kiev, life in the capital is getting even more dangerous. And with winter approaching, some are getting out of harm's way, either by moving to the countryside or in some cases abroad. Paul Adams has been to meet two Ukrainian women who've decided it's safer to leave. The capital. Kiev is more dangerous than at any moment since the early days of Russia's full-scale invasion. Alerts, sirens and explosions are happening all day, every day. Not only that, but winter is coming and Russia is already attacking the power grid. More and more people are thinking about getting themselves out of harm's way of leaving the city. We've driven a couple of hours south from Kiev. Deep into the Ukrainian countryside to a tiny little village, frankly, in the middle of nowhere. I'm standing in the garden surrounded by fruit trees. There's a little cottage over there and just in front of me, a barn full of wood chopped for the winter. I have one seat. It is a fireplace. This is where Olena, who lives in Kiev, is planning to spend the winter. She's getting the house ready. Making sure that it will be warm enough. But what she's most looking forward to is the peace and the security. I realized that I couldn't spend the winter in Kiev if the situation will be worse. If I have several sleepless nights, I feel bad. Everything that can be the Russian's target. After several nights here, when I can sleep, just sleep, without any explosions, without any sirens, I feel good. Back in Kiev, Maria Shostak is packing her bags, getting ready to leave the country altogether. Maria's two children, Artur and Kira, were both born after Russia's invasion. full-scale invasion. They've known nothing. nothing but war. As it turns out, life in Kiev in the past year has given Maria plenty of reasons. It was a very difficult winter last year in Kiev. Those attacks and the damage on the energy system and heating made life unbearable. In these conditions, we couldn't survive. So back then, I started thinking, I'm not going through another winter like this. Originally, Maria planned to wait for winter before leaving. Not anymore. Everything changed in late August, when Kiev started being attacked around the clock. And if earlier the drones or missiles were intercepted somewhere, on the outside, now it was happening in the center, right above our heads, during the day. Missiles, drones, power cuts and winter, it's enough to drive anyone from Kiev. A recent poll found that across Ukraine, lots of people are thinking about leaving their cities. Evgenia Bliznyuk is a sociologist and founder of the Gradus Research Center. Forty percent of our respondents considering they should have plan B, for extraordinary hard conditions of living. But on the other hand, people are not ready just to run away. So they will try to go through this winter in their own homes. So this decision to leave the city or the country will be the last one. But Maria's mind is made up. She's at Kiev railway station with the children, waiting for the train to Vienna. She's taking the kids to Egypt. Much cheaper than Europe, she says. She's going to be in Kiev for the next two weeks. And much warmer, too. After the winter, she's not sure what the future holds. Her husband, Yuri, has come to see them off. They both know it could be a lengthy separation. Artur and Kira seem to know it, too. Paul Adams. To Malaysia next, where schools in several states were closed on Friday after toxic smog. We've had families reporting things like coughs, fever, sore throats and eyes, and then more serious breathing difficulties. And some schools had already been saying, look, let's take learning online. But now the government said, look, in the areas where this air quality poses a hazard to health, let's close those schools. And so we've had families reporting things like coughs, fever, sore throats and eyes, and then more serious breathing difficulties. And so we've had families reporting We've also seen impacts in Indonesia. I mean, animals there. Not only is their natural habitat being destroyed, but the orangutans in Sumatra and Borneo, experts are saying they're being left without food and water. And we can actually see the impacts for ourself online. So, you know, look at the landmarks, Singapore, the skyscrapers in the business district, in the shopping district. They're sort of disappearing in this haze. Kuala Lumpur, same happening to the Petronas Towers. Singapore, Grand Prix is taking place this weekend. That attracts thousands of visitors. F1 organisers insist this is going to go ahead. There is no problem. But maybe we can expect quite a few masks as well this weekend. And you mentioned Indonesia as well and the destruction of wildlife habitats. Is that just because the wildfires or are there other things going on as well? Yeah, I mean, this wildfire, they're saying it's one of the worst seasons. We're looking at more firespots were recorded in 24 hours. Now, what's happening is in peatlands, we've got some of these burning underground. You've got thousands of firefighters. They put them out, but then these hotspots spring up again and they're just really easily reignited. But also we have to remember Indonesia is the largest producer of palm oil. So we've had farmers companies using a cheap but an illegal method of slashing burning to clear this vegetation for plantations, basically. And also experts are saying, look, we've got really dry conditions because of the ongoing El Niño. So quite a few factors at play here. That was Janaki. How does a single fertilised cell produce all the cells in a body? The question has been asked by scientists for decades, and it's critical in understanding how diseases take hold and spread throughout the body. And now new research has moved us closer to an answer. Scientists have mapped out the largest cellular family tree in a single cell as it branches out into a massive network of nearly 1.3 million descendants. Dr. Jay Shenjor is one of the authors of the study and a developer of the DNA typewriter technology it employed. He's been speaking to my colleague, James Copnell. Every human, really every animal on this planet started out as a fertilised egg. That cell divided to two cells, four cells, eight cells, so on and so forth. For humans giving rise to a body of tens of trillions of cells. And basically the process by which nine months after fertilisation you get a baby, right, that's still very much a mystery. And it's not something that we can see. We can't put it under a microscope. And so to access it, we built something called a DNA typewriter to essentially allow us to track that pattern of cell divisions and build a family tree of cells. That sounds oh so simple. I imagine it was all but that. Yes. You know, this has been well over 10 years in the making. And it's been a long time since we've had a cell division. And Sir John Sulston, very famously at the University of Cambridge, sat down in a microscope for two years and just watched a worm developing. By pen and paper, he basically mapped the blueprint of that entire organism. But it was only a thousand cells. But, you know, almost 50 years onwards, we don't have anything like that for really any other animal, you know, let alone something as large as a mouse or a human. And so you worked on a mouse embryo. Why is having a cell's history so much better than simply taking a snapshot at the end? Biology is not a static process. Biology unfolds over time. When we develop a disease, it's the manifestation of something that started long ago. And for many or most diseases, we have limited insights into pinpointing the where and the when and the precise events that initiated, you know, let's say the development of Alzheimer's or cancer or what have you. And so we really wanted to be able to develop a general, general technology that was applicable to models of all diseases to try and understand how they emerge over time. And that's the key, is it, that this technology could help us fight diseases? That is the hope. Understand disease in order to be able to develop therapies for disease. Absolutely. This was a big leap going from cells in a dish to a mouse. So I think we're at the next phase of a very exciting adventure to map the entire development of a mammal, which is the main model organism that we use to study human biology. That was Dr. Jay Shendure. Finally, a new statue depicting the US President Donald Trump was on display this week in the European Parliament in Strasbourg in France as part of a temporary exhibition. But it is unlikely to feature in any official White House profile. The two and a half metre gold statue is called the Orange Plague and depicts the American leader naked, holding a long golf club and sitting on the shelf. The statue is on the shoulders of a smaller man. Critics demanded its removal. The Slovak Prime Minister, Robert Fico, called it a sign of the decline of the entire European Union. But others supported it, calling it legitimate political satire. The statue's creator, the Danish artist, Jens Galschutz, has been talking to the BBC. Is he surprised it was placed there? I was quite surprised they took it. But I think in the Parliament, they're really, oh, they're so tired of him. Because every time they make an agreement, then Trump breaks the agreement. Every time they make a rule, then Trump breaks a rule. Every time they want to stop a war, Trump begins a war like that. And I think this has influenced the whole area of Europe. And this is the reason, I think, they have given me permission to put it there. And of course, this is not normal to do that. But I think he should not decide whose sculpture we want to have in the European Parliament. And if you hear the chairman for the Parliament has just go out and say, this is not normal. Okay, we are standing back this art work. When you're making art, you're making mirror about the world. So this is my point of view. This is a kind of cartoon. So this is a kind of theater you're making when you make art like I do, like Voltaire making art about the French Revolution or whatever. I'm not really saying art could change a lot. But I think art could make mirror and making the people's mind a little bit and making a lot of laughing. And when you laugh of a dictator, they then you break the dictator's power in a way. So it's because this is quite funny sculpture now. That was the artist Jens Gulschutz. Before we go. Hi, I'm Celia Hatton, one of the presenters of the Global News Podcast. The US midterm elections are coming up soon. And so we're joining forces next week for a special joint edition with AmeriCast. We're pretty sure that leading up to that vote, we'll be hearing a lot of terms and phrases that are used by American election officials and analysts. Words like gerrymandering and battleground state. And so we're hoping to tackle some of the vocabulary to understand. what it means and some of the fascinating background to some of those terms. And we're hoping you can get involved. If you have a suggestion for a word or phrase you'd like us to include, please send us an email or a voice message. It's the usual address, globalpodcast at bbc.co.uk. So if you want to get in touch, please email us with any questions. And that's all from us for now. If you want to get in touch, you can email us at globalpodcast at bbc.co.uk. You can also watch our episodes in full. Just search for the Global News Podcast on YouTube. This edition was mixed by Volodymyr Mazyshka and the producer was Stephen Jensen. The editor is Karen Martin. I'm Charlotte Gallagher. Until next time, goodbye.